Aphrodite's Curse: Incendium
by GoAndKissTheDrummer
Summary: I believe in love. Yeah. Unfortunately, I do. I mean, I live in a world where the complete epitome of it is a giggling Barbie girl; I don't need any more proof. I just don't think everyone needs so much of it. Me, for instance. But, sadly, I have a hard time convincing said Barbie girl that. Oh, and don't forget that idiot son of Hephaestus. LeoValdezxOC
1. I Have A Huge Problem

_Hi! PLease, tell me if it's any good. Please DON'T get OFFENDED by what my character says or does._

_-The__ Drummer_

**Disclaimer: Last I checked, I was a girl and Rick Riordan was male-I only own my OC**.

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Let's cut to the chase…

Since you probably know a _lot_ about my world by now, I don't have to explain that much. But, for the sake of your sanity, I'd probably have to.  
Assuming that you know nothing about this world, let me fill you in on a little secret:

**Gods are real.**

Yes, gods are real. _Greek ones_. You know? Zeus, Hermes, Apollo and all that messed up stuff.  
Pretty awesome right? Wrong. Very, _very_ wrong. Well, not really that wrong but...We're getting of topic.

Let me give you a minute to recover. I mean, mortals like you are supposed to be new to this; at least, that's what I was told, so calm down a bit.

Now, let's continue…

You know how, in the myths (Again, assuming you know them. If you don't, then how'd you even find this?) the gods come down to earth and…I don't really know how to put this…hook up? Yeah, let's go with that. They hook up with mortals like you (_Fair warning: Be careful_.) and then they produce babies.

The babies are called half bloods.

Demigods.

_Heroes_.

**Half man and half god**...

You get the picture.

Shocker, right? Why don't they just stay up there and…No. I don't want to continue that sentence. No way…As disturbing as that sounds… I advise you to get used to it.

Now, you're probably wondering why I know so much…or why I don't consider myself a mortal like you. (Well, if you're not, let's just all assume that you are.) Or, then again, you're probably bored out of your mind just by reading this and are waiting for me to get it over with. If you are, I should probably tell you that I don't give a damn.

Well, then. To answer your question, I'm going to tell you another secret. Yes, _another_ secret. Better get used to that, too.

**I am a demigod.**

Are you okay? Better not answer that, I wouldn't care either way. Yes, I'm a demigod. I'm not playing you. Seriously. I do not kid.

So, now that that's over, there must be thousands of questions swarming inside your head right now, right? Well, welcome to our world, where the questions multiply when you think you've finally got a straight answer and your life is a living hell. (The Underworld be damned.) Yay.

Fun, right? If you're like me, then yes. It is fun. Mind you, some demigods hate it. They hate that they're in danger most of the time. They even whine about the fact that their godly parent ignores them. Bunch of half divine wuss.

So what, if every single day of your life, you fear that you'd get killed? You're gonna die, anyways, why not die the awesome way? So what, if your godly parent ignores you? If you're like me, then you're probably used to having only one parent, whether it's your mom or your dad. What the Hades is the damned difference? Nothing. You've lived with it most of your life, why not try to live it all the way? Go on, tell me I'm wrong.

Do you know who _my_ godly parent is? If you don't then let me enlighten you.

I'm a daughter of Ares. The War god. Bask in my awesomeness. Not. We're probably the most hated at camp. Not like I care, it just gets a bit…

Whatever.

Wait, did I say camp? Yes, I did say _camp_. You see, there's this place for demigods like me, where we train so we don't get killed in the mortal world. Monsters can smell us, unfortunately, and apparently, the more powerful we are, the more prominent the scent. Lucky I'm in between, maybe just a little more powerful but let's not talk about that. (Modesty isn't my strong suit, as you can see.)

So, why am I telling you this, exactly? Well, I don't know either. But I guess it has something to do with my problem. You see, I don't normally act like a daughter of Aphrodite but, this time, it's different. I've got this weird feeling in my stomach when I see him and it's weird because it doesn't seem all that bad. I asked a daughter of Aphrodite what I was feeling and all she did was squeal and jump up and down until I was ready to knock her lights out. All because of a stupid idiotic puny little newbie.

I'm telling you, I'm not a daughter of Athena or Aphrodite but I know there's something wrong with me. A huge problem. And I'm trying to solve it. I tried a child of Athena next and he told me that the first step to solving a problem was to admit that I had one. So I did…

I, Sienna Harper, daughter of Ares, like Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus.

There. Problem solved, right? No, it only made it worse. Now that I know I like the guy, I can't help but feel jealous every time he goes all _'Marry me!'_ on other girls, it's pretty damn annoying. You see, every time he meets a girl who can pretty much beat him to a pulp, he _falls in love_ with them. He did it to me once, and then moved on to another. I mean, _what the Hades_ is with that? That's why I try to pulverize him any chance I get. The damned idiot. And he is so dense! Why can't he-

Oh. Wait, I sound like a lovesick teenager (Which I'm not!), I may like him, but there's a fifty/fifty chance this'll go away soon enough. So, it can't possibly be love. And besides, I don't need love. Yes, _need_. Not believe, I believe in love, I just don't think everybody needs so much of it. I've gone on half of my life contented with the love of my mother, who says I need anyone like him, now?

Oh, right. Aphrodite did. That stupid goddess!


	2. The Lost Hero

_This story would be like the cliche "There-is-a-fourth-member-in-the-quest-yada-yada" situation, despite the fact that it would be bad luck. Also, the Seven will always be the Seven, no demigod removed or added. I would also like to apologize if I'm just going through with the book and saying stuff about it. That will change, of course. I will have my own situations, no matter how awkward and OOC they might be. I swear on the River Styx. *thunder boomed loudly*_

_-The Drummer _

**Disclaimer: I only own Sienna Harper, my OC**

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"I'm telling you, she's gone crazy. Another vision? That's, like, the fourth time in three days and it gets weirder by the minute…"

I heard some of my brothers talking. I rolled my eyes and threw the knife. I hate to admit this but they're kind of right. Annabeth's going paranoid. She's this girl at camp, a daughter of Athena, goddess of wisdom and battle. She's blonde with startling grey eyes like most of her brothers and sisters. When she was twelve years old, she went on a quest with a guy named Percy Jackson, and ever since, she's been going on suicide missions and coming back alive. She's also the greatest fighter the camp has ever seen. (Don't tell her I said that or there will be a lot of pain involved!) She's the smartest and most in control at camp, but for the past few days, you might think otherwise.

Her boyfriend, Percy Jackson, is a son of Poseidon, one of the _Big Three_. He's _the_ hero of Olympus and has been granted immortality and refused. He's done a lot of great things but, I pretty much want to kill him any chance I get. I can honestly tell you that one of his greatest accomplishments was to bathe me and some of my sisters in toilet water. (That stopped Clarisse's welcoming ritual.) My camouflage jacket hasn't smelled the same since. He's a great swordsman, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to strangle him. (But I left that job to Clarisse, she's way more sadistic.) A few days ago, he vanished without any trace and the camp's gone haywire. _Especially _Annabeth.

She doesn't eat or sleep anymore. It freaks me out. Actually, it freaks all the campers out. Ever since Percy's gone missing, she wouldn't stop until all of us were exhausted beyond measure. I mean, come on! I know the guy's a legend but waking us up at four in the morning just because she had another out of this world vision? You got to agree with me on this one.

I continued listening to my brothers gossip like a bunch of Aphrodite devil spawns.

"What was it this time? Let me guess, a flying banana?" Stupid brother Number 1 said. The other two laughed. "No…Something about a guy with one shoe…" Stupid brother Number 2 answers. The other two laughed again. I scoffed. I can't believe I'm related to these doofuses.

"WHAT THE HADES ARE YOU THREE DOING?!"

I tried not to laugh out loud when Clarisse came by with Lam-Maimer. She's the Head counselor of my cabin, Ares. With brown hair and reddish brown eyes, she's a killing machine. She slayed a Drakon a few years back and no one tried to question her again. Her eyes flashed blood red and she gritted her teeth. The other three looked like they were going to wet themselves. I let out a quiet chuckle and threw another knife. Idiots.

"WEREN'T YOU SUPPOSED TO BE TRAINING?! IT'S CAPTURE THE FLAG TONIGHT AND I'M NOT GOING TO LOSE TO THOSE CEREAL LOVING-!"

I frowned. She was cut off by some of our younger sisters.

"Clarisse! Annabeth's back and she's got three new campers with her! I heard one of them-"

But Clarisse wasn't listening anymore, and so were the rest of the campers at the arena. I dropped the knives and followed Eris, my younger sister, out until we reached a spot near the lake.

Other campers were standing there, too, and at the front were Annabeth Chase, Head counselor of the Athena cabin, Will Solace, Head counselor of the Apollo cabin, and Drew Tanaka, Head counselor of the Aphrodite cabin. Beside them, three new demigods were looking around, completely shocked.

Will, a blond guy with blue eyes and perfect blinding teeth, looked pissed off while Annabeth was talking to Drew, a tall, Asian girl with hair in perfect black ringlets cascading down her back, she can somehow make our camp T-shirt look "glamorous" (Not my word. I think I heard Mitchell describe her as that. Or was it Lacy...?) with jeans and a kill-me-now kind of attitude.

"...All demigods are worth saving, Drew." Annabeth was saying. Drew huffed, looking unconvinced. Annabeth continued, "But I'll admit, the trip didn't accomplish what I hoped." I raised an eyebrow. So, Percy wasn't here? Damn! I came here for nothing…

"Hey!" A girl exclaimed, she had choppy brown hair with a single braid near her ear, and different colored eyes. I'm serious, they change like, every five seconds. I could tell she tried hard not to look good, or even remotely attractive, but I don't think it worked, she was seriously good looking. My lip curled in distaste. "It's not like we asked to be brought here!" She told them, outraged. I scoffed. One way or another, she'll find herself here, better now than later. Drew looked at her in disdain. "And nobody wants you, hon. Does your hair always look like a dead badger?" Like I said, she still looked "glamorous" even if half the camp hates her as much as my cabin.

The new girl stepped forward, I tried not to smile, ready to hit her-this time, I did smile-but Annabeth stopped her. I frowned at Annabeth, I wanted to know if the girl could hurt. "Piper, stop." Piper? So that was her name, I wonder what the other two's names are.

Piper looked at Annabeth and stopped, I'm guessing she found Annabeth scary. Wimp. (But Annabeth could probably knock her out fine so…)

"We need to make our new arrivals feel welcome." Annabeth started, giving Drew a look. "We'll assign them each a guide. Hopefully, by campfire tonight, they'll be claimed." The "new arrivals" looked confused at this.

"Could someone tell me what claimed means?" Piper questioned.

But she didn't have to ask because she was given front row seats. A boy, he looked Hispanic, with elfish features, black curly hair and warm brown eyes, stood there with a large fiery hammer floating above him. It radiated blazing red light. _Hephaestus_. A few campers gasped and backed away.

"That," Annabeth said, looking at the sign above the boy. "Is claiming." I resisted the urge to shout, _"Nice explanation!" _The boy, who got claimed, backed away.

"What'd I do?" He asked, if he wasn't already claimed, I would think he was a child of Hermes. Seeing his face more clearly, it looked like it was made for a troublemaker. (I mean, _really_ a troublemaker, all of us demigods are one, one way or another.) He looked up, seeing us looking above him, and yelped. "Is my hair on fire?" He asked frantically. No one answered him.

He bobbed his head, trying to "extinguish" the "fire" but with no luck. I tried not to laugh with the others; this claiming was the funniest yet.

He could definitely be a child of Hermes.

"That's not good," Butch muttered, a buff guy who's ironically a son of Iris, goddess of Rainbows. "The curse-" Annabeth glared at him. "Butch, shut up," She warned then turned towards the boy. "Leo-" So that was his name, it suited him. (Don't judge me.) "You've just been claimed-" But someone cut her off. I, in truth, was shocked. Somebody actually had the guts to interrupt Annabeth when she's in her element. Knowing useless (Well, not all the time.) stuff.

"By a god," A blond boy said, he had electric blue eyes (Which seemed familiar...) and a lean build. He had a knowing but dazed look on his face, like he knew what he was saying but didn't know why. "That's the symbol of Vulcan, isn't it?" He asked. My brows furrowed. Who the Hades is Vulcan?

Annabeth looked at him weirdly. Well, all of us looked at him. "Jason?" Annabeth said cautiously, like she was afraid one word would set him off. "How do you know that?"

"I'm not sure." Ah, the universal answer, along with "I don't know." and "Never mind." and "What are you talking about?" and other …Wait. I'm getting off topic. Damn ADHD. Meanwhile, Leo, the Hispanic looking boy, grew even more confused.

"Vulcan?" He questioned. "I don't even LIKE Star Trek-" What the Hades was he talking about? What was Star Trek? "-What are you talking about?" Well damn. We think alike. Sort of. But he was right, what was a Vulcan?

"Vulcan is the Roman name for Hephaestus," Annabeth informed him. "The god of blacksmiths and fire." Leo looked like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. The sign faded but he continued on swatting it, like he was afraid it might return. "The god of what? Who?" He asked. I rolled my eyes. Annabeth turned to Will.

"Will, would you take Leo, give him a tour? Introduce him to his bunkmates at Cabin Nine."  
"Sure, Annabeth."

Leo looked even more bewildered. "What's Cabin Nine?" Idiot. Even Percy could figure that out. "And I'm NOT a Vulcan!" He said indignantly. I laughed. He sounded like he was extremely offended to be labeled a "Vulcan". Will turned towards him.

"Come on, Mr. Spock, I'll explain everything." I laughed harder. Mr. Spock? What was that? It sounded like an insult to me.

He put a hand on his shoulder and dragged him away. The other campers started walking away, too, chattering about the new determined demigod. He didn't get a proper introduction like the others but people were talking about him like he did. "Leo, son of Hephaestus, god of the Forges, Blacksmiths, and Fire."

As soon as they left, Annabeth turned to Jason (I remembered Annabeth calling him that earlier), and Piper's eyes flashed with jealousy. I snorted, Annabeth already had Percy. He is _way_ better than Jason. I mean, who would want to trade a guy who saved the world in his teenage years, for a dude who's got amnesia? An idiot, maybe. Annabeth looked at Jason like he was a complicated equation, Piper soon realized that she wasn't interested and turned to look at Jason, too. Probably wondering why Annabeth was staring at him like that.

"Hold out your arm." Annabeth ordered, Jason complied and I craned my neck to see what she found. It was a tattoo of an eagle. Just by looking at it, you'd realize that it was burned there pretty hard, trying-and succeeding-to make it permanent. Under the eagle were a dozen lines and above it were letters.

_SPQR_

What did that mean? I stepped forward, trying to get a better look.

"I've never seen anything like this," Annabeth said, studying the tattoo. "Where did you get them?" Jason shook his head, looking weary. "I'm getting really tired of saying this, but I don't know."

Other demigods followed my lead and pushed forward. I stepped forward, again, since I didn't want to be overtaken. What was it? It was disturbing to see. I felt like the mark wasn't supposed to be seen by us. It didn't belong here. A voice inside my head kept yelling, _Enemy! Destroy!_ I grew more curious. Usually, children of Ares's instincts were right.

"They look burned into your skin." Annabeth stated. Well, duh, Annabeth, I thought.

"They were." Jason said and then winced, as if it pained him to know that simple answer. "I mean…I think so. I don't remember." We didn't say anything. We were waiting for Annabeth to respond; she was the most rational out of all of us, she'd know what it meant…Then again, her sanity is now being questioned after the second vision. Maybe it wasn't right to wait for Annabeth to answer, after all.

"He needs to go straight to Chiron," Right, same old Annabeth. What was I thinking? "Drew, would you-" No, I was wrong, Annabeth's gone insane. Why would she leave Jason to Drew? I hate to admit this, but Jason's a good looking guy, Drew would probably scar him for life. Gods, Annabeth, why? I thought she said the new arrivals should feel _welcome_. Drew would make him feel anything but.

"Absolutely." Drew stated, clinging to Jason and dragging him away. I made a disgusted face. She makes Connor's singing bearable. (Gods, you should hear him. I was walking near the bathroom while he was showering once. It wasn't pretty.)

"This way, sweetie. I'll introduce you to our camp director. He's an…interesting guy." She said, smiling smugly at Piper, who looked completely angered by this. I frowned at the poor guy then walked away, leaving Annabeth to deal with Piper. I wasn't one to stick my nose where it didn't belong.

Sometimes.


	3. The Daughter of Love

_I feel weirdly giddy every time I read reviews. Sorry, then, if it's short. Don't have much time...doing proj. for school to post more. Thanks to those who did, by the way! _

_-The Drummer_

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Only my OC, Sienna Harper. **

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"Damn! WHO DID THIS?" Clarisse shouted, her eyes glinting red.

Some of my siblings cowered. I couldn't blame them, Clarisse was a beast when she wanted to be. (Which, actually, means _all the damn time_...) She looked at each of us, and when no one answered, growled. She was holding something in her hands, I recognized it as a shield with a wild boar imprinted on it. The boar's eyes were ruby-red and it glared at all of us, as if challenging us to defy it. My face drained of blood. That was the shield Silena used when she…left.

She was probably the most tolerable Aphrodite daughter I've ever met. One of the most beautiful, too. Now, I don't usually use beautiful as a way to describe nearly anything but I dare you to find a word that most suited her. She had long silky black hair the color of ink and olive colored skin that she spent months on until she deemed it flawless. Not an ounce of acne (or facial hair) could be found on her face. Her eyes were stunning cobalt that shone with absolute mirth. She helped Chris Rodriguez, a son of Hermes, and my sister Clarisse get together and ever since, Clarisse was her personal body-guard and best friend.

"I'll take it to the forges, Clarisse." I volunteered. Clarisse's head snapped towards me, she raised an eyebrow questioningly before grudgingly giving me the dented shield. I handled it carefully, knowing full-well that if I even so much as scratch it, I'd be sleeping with the fishes. And Percy wasn't here to translate what they're saying for me.

I cursed.  
I almost dropped it. Clarisse glared at me.

"Be careful." She growled, ready to snatch the celestial bronze shield away from me any minute. I gulped. "Yeah," I assured her. "Don't worry." She gave me a look that practically screamed, _"You better be!"_ and let go.

_"_Butt-kisser!" One of my brothers hissed, scowling at me. I bared my teeth at him (He knew full well that butt-kissery was something we all did from time to time-I mean, I don't _do_ butt-kissery!) and gave him a _Don't-Mess-With-Me_ look that I learned to imitate from Clarisse. Needless to say, he backed off.

* * *

I was walking near the Hephaestus Cabin when I saw the new determined demigod, Leo. Will was showing him his cabin when I overheard what they were talking about.

"That old lady…" Leo started, "What's she doing here?"

Now, I lived in camp for almost half of my life. Starting from when my mother sent me here when I was nine after my first monster attack, and I've never seen, nor have I heard of, an old lady or any adult besides the gods and Chiron that could come here. Much less stand at the middle of camp. Will tried to follow his gaze but I guess he didn't see her because he said,

"What old lady?"

I looked where Leo was looking and gasped. Standing there was a woman-an old woman-,just like what Leo said. She had intense dark eyes that seemed to look into the very core of your soul-I was lucky she wasn't looking at me-and thin leathery skin. She wore some kind of black dress with a shawl over her head. Who was she?

"Dude, the old lady. The one in black. How many old ladies do you see?" Leo stated, still staring at the woman in black. Guess you're not alone, buddy. I see her, too, I thought. I didn't get to see Will's reaction because I was blinking profusely. I wanted to see if she'd disappear. Unfortunately, she didn't.

"I think you've had a long day, Leo. The Mist could still be playing tricks on your mind. How about we head straight to your cabin now?" Will said. That freaked me out even more because I'm sure as Hades that this wasn't the Mist. Gods, I hope it is.

I started walking away, carefully avoiding looking at the woman in black. If you don't see her, she doesn't see you. I was afraid she'd look at me like she was looking at Leo. It was creepy and I was still hoping that she wasn't real and I've just inhaled something that Leo somehow inhaled, too. I passed by the two boys and heard Leo say,

"Just messing with you, man…" But I blocked out the rest because I was sorely hoping that I was messing with me, too. I was tempted to go up to him and tell him that I saw her as well, but I didn't want to make a fool of myself, what if he really was messing with Will? Gods, I wish it was that easy.

Suddenly, a weird shiver ran down my entire body and I stopped walking. My body seamed to move on its own accord and turned towards the place where the woman was. My breathing hitched. There was the woman and she was looking at me. She slowly opened her mouth and green smoke poured out, like when the Oracle would when issuing a new prophecy. But this time was way creepier.

She spoke in an old raspy voice, the kind of sound you'd expect to come from an old broken radio,

_"Help them, demigod…" _She started. My whole body shook-she was addressing _me_. _"Help them free me from my prison…Help…them…"_ She spoke before slowly disappearing.

When she left, I suddenly gained control of my body and in my haste, I staggered back and fell to the ground. My mouth was wide open and so were my eyes, I quickly stood up and ran towards the Big House. I was praying to any god who was listening, that Annabeth or Chiron should be there. I was clutching Silena's shield like it was my life line, my knuckles were white from nerves.

I stopped in front of the door to compose myself, I was still a little shaken but Annabeth wouldn't like it if I just barged in without notice. I was about to knock when I heard what they were talking about. I wasn't sure why I decided to listen in but I did. Maybe because I had a sister who was dating a guy who was practically a world-class snoop and was forced to acknowledge his existence like everyone else because he was a living proof that Ares kids actually _did_ have a heart. (And it was Clarisse who showed this, kind of ironic, huh?)

"A prophecy?" A voice I recognized as Chiron's said. What? Another prophecy? The gods have so many problems.

"No. The spirit of Delphi comes from within. I know how that feels. This was like long distance, a power trying to speak through me." I heard Rachel say. A clear-sighted mortal who had red hair, a freckled face and green eyes. She's the new Oracle of Delphi, starting from a few months ago when Apollo asked her and she agreed. She gives us prophecies when we need it or just randomly recites it whenever. Either way, she's the one responsible for giving us our rhymes of death.

"Chiron, what happened back there-I've never seen anything like it. I've heard Rachel's prophecy voice. This was different. She sounded like an older woman. She grabbed Piper's shoulders and told her-" Annabeth was talking frantically but was cut off. My heart pounded against my chest. What were they talking about? Older woman? Was it possible that the old woman that they were talking about was Leo's _old lady_? She talked to them, too?

"To free her from prison?" A boy's voice, one I recognized as Jason's-a "new arrival"-,supplied. My breathing hitched. Free her from prison? That's what she told me…she told me that I should help them. Help who? Piper? Jason?

Annabeth's voice interrupted my thoughts, "How did you know that?"

Jason began explaining what happened a few minutes ago. At every word that came out of his mouth, I became more and more anxious. Goat skin? I never heard of that in Greek mythology. But, what the woman told him, to free her from prison…does that mean I have to, too? I felt a rush of excitement that seemed to come whenever I was in battle, some people call it _adrenaline rush_. But Ares' kids are much, _much,_ worse.

They continued talking but what they were discussing didn't prove much interest to me, not until Jason said something that made me drop Silena's shield and probably get mauled by Clarisse,

"She's imprisoned. She's worried about some enemy getting more powerful. Something about a king rising from the earth on the solstice**-**" That had done it, a flurry of emotions erupted inside of me which made me drop the shield. The room instantly silenced and I heard multiple shuffling. I picked up the shield immediately, ready to turn around, when the door opened and _lo and behold_, Annabeth.

"Harper? What're you doing here?" She asked me, accusation written all over her voice. Normally, I would've been offended and pointed it out but this wasn't normal. I forced myself to look at her dead in the eye. "I was looking for Nyssa." I said smoothly, lying had been one of the traits I picked up from Chris. And, I must say, I'm good at it. Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Didn't you know she was in the forges?" She eyed the shield in my hand, obviously not believing me. "I didn't remember. Thanks…" I said, starting to walk away. But Annabeth stopped me. I cursed under my breath; I knew thanking her was overkill.

"You're a natural liar. A little stiff but a natural, nonetheless." She said. I gulped. Please… "How much did you hear, Sienna?" She demanded, I turned to face her and forced my face to show confusion. I'm not going down without a fight.

"What do you mean, Annabeth? Something you're not telling the camp?" I asked, the question was the most normal I could think of. Meaning: not normal, at all. I saw her grit her teeth and her jaw tensed. She was angry. I guess Percy's disappearance and Jason's arrival was finally getting to her. I am so dead.

"I know you didn't come here because of Nyssa." She stated matter-of-factly. I furrowed my brow. Rule number one, Chris had said, never admit your crime. And that's exactly what I was going to do. I stood there, my face calculated to look puzzled.

"No…I'm pretty sure I came here because of Nyssa, Annabeth. You see, Silena's shield was dented." I told her slowly, as if I was talking to a toddler who couldn't accept that she couldn't have a cookie anymore. I even showed her the shield more clearly to prove my point. She gave me a suspicious look, a look that said she didn't believe what I had said one bit. Damn Athena for producing a girl like Annabeth.

As soon as I thought that, thunder boomed. But Annabeth didn't seem to mind, her eyes flashed with anger for a moment but she didn't seem to care. Maybe it was because they were being silent but a tiny ounce of disrespect and they go wild. I must admit, I'm hating the gods more.

"You better get that shield to the forges, Harper," Annabeth said, giving up. It took all the willpower I had not to go wide-eyed. Annabeth never gives up. Never. "You know how important that is to the Ares and Aphrodite cabins." She said, a little more softly now, before closing the door. A stood there for a moment, not believing what just occurred. I snapped out of it after a few minutes then walked away.

I looked at the shield. _Oh gods, Silena_. I remembered how much trouble she caused for Clarisse and Chris. Nevertheless, she was okay.

More than okay, actually.

She led our cabin to war when Clarisse wouldn't. Probably the bravest but most troublesome Aphrodite kid ever. She was a hero.

_No_. I could practically hear her reprimanding me. I smiled. A beautiful hero, then.

_Better_. I looked at the shield in my hands. In Elysium and still causing trouble.

I can see why Clarisse liked you, Beauregard.


	4. The Old Lady's Quest I

_I'm really extremely sorry for not updating. It was exam week a few days ago and I also ran for Student Council VP...(I, unfortunately, lost to my best friend...*sigh*) Sincerely overly sorry. To compensate, I'll be uploading more chapters._

_-The Drummer_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson.**

* * *

As it turns out, Nyssa wasn't at the forges. She was actually with all the others, at who knows where. I found this out the hard way, though.

"Hey, Nyssa, Annabeth told me that you're he…" I didn't continue my sentence because no one was there. Well, not exactly no one. Just one person. He was Hispanic-looking with curly coal-black hair and wide blazing brown eyes. His hands were behind his back and he looked shocked to see me. We stood there for some time before he finally regained composure and cracked a wide impish grin. He was the newbie, Leo.

"What's a pretty girl like you doing here?" He shot me a wink and I scowled at him. He better not have been addressing me. But saying that to someone else was impossible, unless he was talking to some of the armors behind me, so he was a dead man.

"Wipe that grin of your face, punk." I turned on my inner Ares. No one hits on me on their first day. No one. Actually, no one hits on me, at all. My opinion on him seems to be changing fast. His eyes twinkled and something told me that being aggressive was the worst thing that I had done.

I was right.

"Ohhh…feisty. I like it." He said, his grin widening. I growled at him but decided to ignore what he said all together.

"Where're your brothers and sisters?" I asked him bluntly, not wanting to spend time with him any longer. He shrugged.

"Said something about…You know what? I'm available, what'd you need?" He said, his grin turning into a flirtatious one. Meaning: My availability is in more ways than one. I glared at him.

"I'm not surprised. Girls want knights in shining armors. You're obviously not." I taunted, eyeing his lanky arms pointedly. I must've been doing something wrong or he was just plain stupid because his grin widened again. Was he for real?

"Psh, knights don't stand a chance against me. And, besides, I can tell you aren't a damsel in distress." He said, his Cheshire grin not wavering. Was he naturally a terrible flirt? Or was he doing this to get on my nerves? Either way, if he doesn't stop now, he'd die.

Painfully.

"Shut up," I said and decided to ask him something since he was already here, "Can you fix this?"

"Anything for you…" He started saying but stopped, he looked at the shield like it was the Gods' gift to destructive teenage boys everywhere. Which it was. This shield looked pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.

"What've you got there, Miss Pretty?" He has to stop calling me that. It sounds weird. But I figured he didn't know my name so I let it slide. I was a bit merciful since he was new and I didn't know what he was capable of. He might be like Percy, idiot looking but powerful. Clarisse had warned us about them. I looked at him again and pursed my lips._No. What was I thinking? _

He came towards me and started for the shield but I moved it away.

"You know what, newbie? I rather take this to Nyssa or whoever. You might break it." I told him, holding the shield protectively. He looked offended but it went away almost immediately.

"Okay, but I'm pretty sure I can fix it." He shrugged. I scowled. "You're not experienced and, besides, this shield is special. I can't let just _anyone_ hold it." I growled out. He grinned. Why doesn't his expression change? Whatever.

"Oh, but I'm not just anyone," Where have I heard that before? "Leo Valdez, um, son of, uh, Hephaestus! At your service, my lady. Ladies' man and-" I cut him off. Ladies' man? Really? And _what_ did he call me? My lady?

"Does it look like I care? Don't talk to me ever again. Goodbye."

I left him there. I went to my cabin to see Clarisse waiting for me. A shiver ran down my spine. Her eyes weren't just glinting red, it was glowing. A loose string of curses erupted from me. I didn't get the shield fixed, obviously.

"Where've you been?" She all but yelled. You would think she would treat me nicer since I had kindly volunteered to fix the shield, but no, she has to greet me like I just sneaked out of our training sessions. But, then again, this was Clarisse. She has to be all high and mighty or the others will think of her as weak. And think of her as weak, we do not.

"I didn't get the shield fixed, Clarisse. Sorry…" Apparently, she didn't want my apology. Her hands enclosed into a fist and an animalistic growl came from her. I practically wet myself. I assure you, I'm not a coward but if you've ever saw Clarisse angry, you'd have that reaction, too.

"You're such an idiot! I told you to get that fixed!" Where was Chris Rodriguez when you need him? "Look, I'm really sorry. I just got sidetracked and-"

"What'd you do?" She interrogated threateningly. I gulped. I didn't want to tell her but I knew I had no other option. She was going to kill me and I haven't written my will, yet. Plus, it'd be humiliating getting killed by your sister. I don't think a bloody homicide would get me to Elysium. (Although, if I put up a fight…and since it's Clarisse…)

"I went to go see Annabeth." As soon as that left my mouth, I knew I'd regret it. How was I supposed to know if Annabeth would tell Clarisse about me going to the Big House for Nyssa at their meetings? I was screwed. Clarisse's eyes narrowed, and if that happens, you better start telling the truth. I was such a pushover, it's embarrassing.

Luckily, I was saved from further humiliation because the Conch horn blew. My brothers and sisters started coming and together, and like a military group, we went to the dining pavilion. Sneers were etched on our faces, a sign that clearly said _"Don't mess with us,"_ like the aggressive persons that we were**.**

* * *

All of us were sitting near the campfire, listening to Chiron talk. The sing-along was done and we were all waiting for Chiron to say something about Percy. Always Percy. We needed to find him. Even if I don't like him that much, he was still a camper. (And a nice guy, but let's all forget I said that.)

"Very nice! And a special welcome to our new arrivals. I am Chiron, the camp activities director, and I'm happy you have all arrived here alive and with most of your limbs attached. In a moment, I promise we'll get the s'mores, but first-" Chiron was a centaur. Half-man and half-horse. He was a normal looking old man from the waist up and from the waist down, a white stallion that looked like it could have been regal if it weren't for the fact that its head was a man's. He was the trainer of heroes, like in the myths. And, is very old.

He was talking about the new campers but all I had in my head at that time was Capture the Flag. I couldn't take it, anymore. I wanted to play. Maybe break some limbs since he said that they were all attached. I yelled,

"What about capture the flag?"

My brothers and sisters started muttering to each other. They wanted to play as much as I did.  
"Yes," Chiron said. "I know the Ares cabin is anxious to return to the woods for our regular games-"

My brother, Shane, cut him off and shouted, "And kill people!"

I was ready to agree with him but Chiron shot us a warning look that I knew the campers didn't see.

"However, until the dragon is brought under control, that won't be possible. Cabin Nine, anything to report on that?" He turned towards the group with big burly kids-not like _us_ but big from working at the forges all day-and a girl wearing an army jacket stood up, her red bandanna a lot like Clarisse's strapped around her head, Nyssa. She looked around uncomfortably before saying,

"We're working on it."

I started grumbling with my siblings. Were they still on about the curse? Beckendorf was a hero (Of course) and I know they miss him but I'm sure someone could fix it.

Caleb, my older brother, glared. "How, Nyssa?" Nyssa looked torn.

"Really hard."

She sat down again as my cabin started complaining and yelling. I was as bad as them. Capture the Flag was the only time I could pound other campers (Not that bad, just enough to bruise them, I think.) without Chiron minding and not giving us punishments. The time of the week. Chiron stomped his hooves on warning and we all fell silent. You don't mess with a centaur when they're in horse form. You just don't.

"We will have to be patient," He said, giving us another pointed look. I huffed. He knows we have ADHD. (Best excuse ever!) "In the meantime, we have more pressing matters to discuss." I kind of agreed with him, and so did camp, but I'm sure not from the reason I had. I needed an explanation about the old woman. (I couldn't remember what the blond dude-Jason-said her name was.) Even if it's indirect. I know she was the one Annabeth and the others talked about.

"Percy?" An Apollo kid asked. The mood dropped drastically. Chiron motioned for Annabeth and she stood up, but not before taking a deep breath. She looked at all of us grimly and we knew he wasn't found. The campers who weren't present when Jason, Piper, and Leo came looked sad at this.

"I didn't find Percy." She told us. Her voice strained when she said the hero's name. No one spoke, waiting for her to continue. "He wasn't at the Grand Canyon like I thought. But we're not giving up. We've got teams everywhere. Grover, Tyson, Nico, the Hunters of Artemis. Everyone's looking." She assured us, but it sounded like an assurance to herself more than anything. I almost felt sorry for her.

Almost.

But I knew she didn't want pity.

"We will find him," At this, a fire burned in her eyes. _Determination_. "Chiron's talking about something important. A new quest." Her eyes fleeted towards me for just a second. She knew I knew something. I shuddered with mild excitement. A quest?

"It's the Great Prophecy, isn't it?" A female voice yelled. I looked towards the table painted reddish pink with a dove insignia on it. Drew was standing and that was enough to make me feel shocked. She didn't associate with us, "unworthy people", often. Not that anyone minded. I'm personally glad she keeps her yap shut.

"Drew?" Annabeth asked, equally as astonished as us. "What do you mean?" Now, if this were under normal circumstances again, I would think the world was ending. Annabeth Chase just _asked _what she, Drew Tanaka,_meant__._

"Well, come on," She said, like it was so obvious. "Olympus is closed. Percy's disappeared. Hera sends you a vision and you come back with three new demigods in one day. I mean, something weird's going on. The Great Prophecy has started, right?" As soon as she was finished, my jaw instantly dropped. I leaned in to one of my brothers and whispered, "Did she-did she actually make a point? Was she actually right about something?"

Apparently, I was louder than I thought because Drew glared at me. I didn't even flinch. I could kill her now and no one would care. My brother and some of my cabin mates nodded disbelievingly, too. Clarisse just snorted and muttered something about it being the end of the world. I agreed with her wholeheartedly. I looked at Rachel for some answers like the others when Annabeth didn't respond.

"Well?" Drew called, addressing Rachel. "You're the Oracle. Has it or not?"  
She stood up calmly and looked at each and every one of us. She took an unnoticeable deep breath and said,

"Yes. The Great Prophecy has begun."

My eyes went wide and I shouted, "What? What do you mean it has started? You said it won't be for a couple of centuries!" I would've been embarrassed about yelling (Not really) but the others were shouting, too. So, all was good. After everyone was done freaking out, Rachel stepped forward again. About a dozen demigods stepped back in intimidation and I rolled my eyes. Wimps.

"For those of you who have not heard it, the Great Prophecy was my first prediction. It arrived in August. It goes like this:

_Seven half-bloods shall answer the call._  
_To storm or fire the world must fall-_"

But she stopped because, suddenly, the blond boy, Jason, stood up. His eyes were wide and he looked dazed, just like he did earlier when asked about the tattoo, but with much more force.

Rachel looked shocked. "J-Jason?" She asked. "What's-"

"_Ut cum spiritu postrema sacramentum dejuremus_," He said this as if it were some incantation for a ritual. _"__Et hostes ornamenta addent ad ianuam nacem._" He finished. Everyone was looking at him like he'd grown a second head. Latin? Why was he speaking in Latin? I'd recognized a few lines.

"You just…finished the prophecy," Rachel spluttered, looking stunned. "_An oath to keep with final breath, And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death_. How did you-"

"I know those lines," Jason muttered. My brows furrowed, I thought he had amnesia? But, then again, he knows much more than a normal demigod. I shouldn't be surprised. "I don't know how, but I know that prophecy."

"In Latin, no less," Drew piped up. Why do I have the feeling that she would say something stupid? Because she's Drew, I answered my own question. "Handsome and smart." She stated. Some of her siblings burst out in a fit of giggles. Note to self: Never doubt myself again, I thought.

The girls stopped and Rachel started telling us about what Jason saw earlier. About-the old lady-Hera's visit.(Now, I remember her name. I don't know why I forgot Hera. Maybe I didn't listen.) Even though I already heard it, I couldn't help but listen to everything she says. What Hera told Jason was almost the same as what she told me. Only longer and the fact that she told me that I should help _them_. Whoever they are. After she stopped speaking she addressed Jason again.

"Jason, do you know your last name?"  
Jason looked at her sheepishly and shook his head. I frowned. We're doomed.

"We'll just call you Jason, then," Rachel decided. "It's clear Hera herself has issued you a quest." She stopped for a moment, as if expecting him to back out. If he did, I would've done a rampage. It was clear to me, too, that I was going to go on a quest with him, if he was the one supposed to lead the quest. Hera told me to help them-him. And help, I will. And there were monsters waiting to get killed. (Bonus!)

"I agree." He said and I broke into a mad grin, which didn't go unnoticed by my fellow cabin mates as they looked at me weirdly. Adrenaline cursed through my veins again. I was ready to take any ugly monster on.


	5. The Old Lady's Quest II

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson.**

* * *

Disturbing pessimist thy name is Chiron.

Seriously, who does that? One minute, Rachel is happily issuing Jason a quest and the next, Chiron is talking about "something sinister" and "ancient evil magic older than the gods". It wasn't that it scared me; it was the fact that he was _supposed _to be totally supportive about us doing this. _Not_ making us regret going on suicidal missions for powerful divine beings that could probably protect themselves well enough because, well, they're _immortal_. Annabeth glared at him. Who wouldn't?

"Okay, thank you, Captain Sunshine." She said sardonically. I snorted. "I agree with Rachel. Jason has been chosen to lead this quest-" She was cut off by Sherman, one of my more popular siblings.

"Why hasn't he been claimed?" He asked. "If he's so important-"  
"He has been claimed. Long ago." Chiron interrupted. I raised an eyebrow. Really? "Jason, give them a demonstration."

Jason stepped forward nervously, obviously not knowing what to do. Great, he's going to make a fool of himself in front of every camper here. Way to go, Chiron, I thought.

But, to my great surprise, he knew exactly what to do. He took out a gold coin and flipped it, sending it flying through the air. I gasped as it turned into a large rod-like object. Seven feet long with a pointed tip, _pure imperial gold_. (Clarisse made us study the types of material used for different weapons. Don't ask me why.)

"Wasn't that…" Annabeth stopped herself. "I thought you had a sword." And I thought there could be no cooler weapon than Percy's Riptide, but we all can't always be right, now, can't we?

Jason looked like he was thinking it through, finally he said, "Um, it came in tails, I think." I raised an eyebrow, interested. I saw my brother's jaw drop. "Same coin, long range weapon form."

"Dude, I want one!" Caleb said. I have to admit, I_ so_ want one, too. But, _alas_, I already have a beloved weapon of choice. "Better than Clarisse's electric spear, Lamer!" Sherman nodded. Clarisse glared at them both. I snickered.

"Electric," Jason said, as if contemplating something. "Back away." He warned Annabeth and Rachel. They did as they were told. I tried to contain my awe and jealousy when Jason's spear produced electricity and it zoomed towards the campfire. Then,

BOOM!

I stiffened. My mouth hung agape. That was so cool! The place where the campfire had been was piled with ashes. A torched log was positioned near Clovis, who was still asleep, and embers were scattered everywhere.

"Sorry." I heard Jason say. But I was still in shock. His father was Zeus. Lord of the Skies and King of the gods. Chiron nodded, looking at the campfire that was reduced to dust and some logs, still burning. "A little overkill, perhaps," I snorted. Yeah, we got the point. Electricity. Super powerful. "But, I believe we know who your father is." Chiron concluded. No duh, I thought.

"Jupiter," Jason said, but corrected himself right away. "I mean, Zeus, Lord of the sky."

There was a moment of silence until all of Hades broke loose.

"Whoa! Zeus is a total womanizer. Why couldn't we have guessed sooner?" That was all I could say. Thunder sounded but I couldn't care less. First Thalia, now Jason. The River of Styx should really be updated. Apparently, it isn't doing its job so well. The "pact" has been broken numerous of times. No kids, huh?

"Hold it!" Annabeth yelled. The noise toned down. "How can he be a son of Zeus…The Big Three…Their pact not to have mortal kids…Why could we not have known about him sooner?" Well, you see, Annabeth, Zeus is a very powerful god, and there is such a thing as keeping a secret. He wouldn't want Jason to end up like Thalia. _And_, besides, Jason is now a living proof that he now had broken their promise two times. It's very logical, really. (Sarcasm is very evident on each word.)

"The important thing is that Jason is here now. He has a quest to fulfill, which means he will need his own prophecy." Rachel told her with a tone that said there was no room to argue. She closed her eyes and fainted, two Apollo campers caught her and a Demeter one ran to get a chair. They placed the stool carefully behind her, ready to aid her landing when she collapsed. Green smoke spewed from inside of her. She looked like one of the "something sinister" Chiron was talking about earlier with the firelight cast on her face.

_"Child of lightning, beware the earth,_  
_A giant's revenge, the seven shall birth,_  
_The forge, dove, and spear shall break the cage,_  
_And death unleash through Hera's rage."_

There was complete silence as the campers processed what Rachel had said. Spear. Ares' symbol. _A bloody spear_. Me. Hera asked _me_ to help them. But, why would I want to help someone like Hera escape her prison now, if she was going to set death free? I saw some of my siblings get excited glints in their eyes as they realized that a spear was our symbol. But, then, Piper decided to say something extremely intelligent.

"Was that normal?" Of course! Of course, it was. We certainly see that every day. You know, a skinny redheaded girl telling us that the most hated goddess is going to get really angry and unleash death. And we're going to help her _willingly_. We do that here every day at Camp Half blood. Heck, you'd be surprised if you saw what we ate for breakfast.

I think she realized that everyone was looking at her.

"I mean, does she spew green smoke a lot?" She asked nervously. I would've laughed at her right then and there if it wasn't for the fact that Clarisse was sitting beside me, all serious. I think my cabin mates had the same thought because they scooted farther away from Clarisse uneasily.

"Gods, you're dense!" Drew exclaimed. Piper looked scandalized. "She just issued a prophecy! Jason's prophecy to save Hera! Why don't you just-" Sherman snorted beside me. I think he was remembering the time _she_ asked the same question, too.

"Drew!" Annabeth reprimanded. "Piper asked a fair question. Something about that prophecy definitely isn't normal. If breaking Hera's cage unleashes her rage and causes a bunch of death…why would we free her? It might be a trap, or-or maybe Hera will turn on her rescuers. She's never been kind to heroes."

Well, then, that doesn't encourage me to help her rescuers, at all. Annabeth made her sound like a total monster, (Figuratively and, sometimes, literally, since we never know with gods.) and if what she's saying is true, why don't we just leave her there to rot? The world (Especially Olympus) would be better off without her. I remembered how she punished Zeus' lovers, even if they were just forced to be his. (And don't forget the heroes they made. Never forget the heroes.) Her reputation is clearly not helping her.

Jason stood up. "I don't have a choice. Hera took my memory. I need it back. Besides, we can't just not help the Queen of the Heavens if she's in trouble." Of course we can, but I wasn't going to say that.

"Maybe. But you should listen to Annabeth. Hera can be vengeful. She threw her son-our dad-down a mountain just because he was ugly." Someone from the Hephaestus table said.

I repeat, her reputation doesn't motivate me, at all. I mean, sure, Hephaestus is completely and utterly ugly, but was that really enough? I could totally sympathize with the Lord of forges. My dad didn't even spare me a single glance because I'm a girl. (But, after the War, that changed a bit.) Which, in his opinion, are weak. That's why no one likes to question Clarisse. She might be scary at times (Okay, _all the time_) but she's still respected. That's because she's Ares' very first Golden _girl_. And, even then, he still isn't happy about her.

"Real ugly." Andrew, a son of Aphrodite, sniggered. Nyssa, the one who spoke, glared at him. "Shut up!" She barked, and then turned towards Jason again. "Anyway, we've also got to think-why, beware the earth? And what's the giants' revenge? What are we dealing with here that's powerful enough to kidnap the Queen of the Heavens?"

No one answered her. The reality that something powerful was out there _again_ that we don't know about was too much to handle. There was complete silence for a few minutes and my eyes wandered over to the Hephaestus table. (Don't ask me why. I don't know, either.) My eyes narrowed when it locked with the same blazing brown ones I saw earlier. He was looking at me and when he noticed that I caught him, winked. I looked away immediately. Has he no shame?

"It's Jason's quest. So, it's Jason's choice. Obviously, he's the child of lightning. And since the prophecy said three others-" Her eyes held mine for a second. "-he may choose any three companions."

"Well, obviously, you, Annabeth. You've got the most experience." Travis called. I raised an eyebrow. What is he, a fan girl now, or something? I decided not to say something about my part in the quest. "No, Travis," Annabeth declined.

"First off, I'm not helping Hera. Every time I've tried, she's deceived me. Or it comes back to bite me later. Forget it," Well, I'm pretty sure I don't want to help her now. But still, a quest is a quest. Most would kill me for this opportunity. (*cough*my siblings*cough*)

"Secondly, I'm leaving first thing in the morning to find Percy." Thirdly, she's not even mentioned in the prophecy. Rachel didn't say anything about owls, books, wisdom, or bright eyes.

I was about to point this out when someone said, "It's connected." It was the new girl, Piper. "You know that's true, don't you? This whole business, your boyfriend's disappearance. It's all connected." I didn't think of it like that. Was it possible that Percy's been kidnapped, too? Unlikely, a part of me argued. Percy is too, well-let's go with-_special_, to get kidnapped.

"How? If you're so smart, how?" Drew challenged obnoxiously. Kids, that's the power of jealousy. They make you extra killable. Piper didn't have a reply for that. I would've told her to go to Hades. In fact, I was in the process of doing that when Annabeth beat me to it. Well, she didn't tell Drew to go to Hades exactly but she still embarrassed her.

"You may be right, Piper. If this is connected, I'll find out from the other end-by searching for Percy. As I said, I'm not about to rush off to save Hera, even if her disappearance sets the rest of Olympus fighting again." Wow, selfish much, Annabeth? I didn't point this out, though. "But there's another reason I can't go. The prophecy says otherwise." Exactly my point! No one said anything about Athena's beloved children.

"It says who I pick. _The forge, dove, and spear shall break the cage._ The forge is a symbol of Vul-Hephaestus." Jason said.

Nyssa looked stumped. "If you have to beware the earth, you should avoid traveling overland. You'll need air transport." She informed him. "The flying chariot's broken-" Way to go, Annabeth. "-and the pegasi, we're using them to search for Percy," I grinned. Because Percy is totally more important than the Queen of the gods. "But maybe the Hephaestus cabin can help figure out something else to help. Jake's incapacitated, I'm a senior camper. I can volunteer for the quest."

She didn't sound real happy about going. But, I guess she didn't have to, because, suddenly, Leo Valdez stood up, despite the many protests of his new found siblings, and looked determinedly at Jason. My heart sank a bit, if I was going on this quest, and Jason picks him, I'd have to, like, get along with him or something. Maybe the latter. I mean, it's extremely hard for me, or for any of my siblings for the matter, to cooperate with someone, let alone get along, but Hephaestus kids aren't really a popular choice for a partner (Not like that, you lunatic.) if your dad's Ares, when you realize your dad is having a long time, and don't forget well known, affair with their dad's wife. It just gets really awkward at that point on and all you can do is get frustrated and, ultimately, hit stuff. And, let me tell you, having super human strength and experience from training all day is a bad thing when you go hitting something (Or, someone) around all willy-nilly.

"It's me," He announced. Well, then. His brothers and sisters all looked unconvinced. Who wouldn't? A newbie-an, obviously, weak newbie- go on a quest? We're not that desperate. One of his brothers, I can't remember who, tried to pull him down, but he stubbornly persisted.

"No, it's me. I've got an idea for the transportation problem. Let me try. I can fix this!" Wow, only a day here and he's got the Cabin Nine catchphrase. He really must be a son of Hephaestus.

Jason hesitated, looking at Leo contemplatively; Nyssa was a much more likable person. I'd wished he said no to him. But, apparently, that wasn't the case, because he smiled and said, "We started this together, Leo. Seems only right you come along. You find us a ride, you're in." I frowned and was about to protest when Nyssa decided to scare him.

"It'll be dangerous," She said. "Hardship, monsters, terrible suffering. Possibly none of you will come back alive." Everyone is all a big ball of sunshine toady, aren't they? Such lovely people. (And they punish us for making that first year camper wet her pants.) Leo looked completely discouraged by that and I tried to hide in my snort. We may not come back alive but, at least, we died the awesome way. All of the things Nyssa mentioned are a part of being a demigod. They've got to get used to it some time.

"Oh." Leo stated, disgruntled. I raised an eyebrow, not what you'd expect from the great "Ladies' Man". But, pretty soon, he realized what he'd said and tried to correct it. "I mean…Oh, cool! Suffering? I love suffering! Let's do this." My cabin mates snickered at his pathetic attempt to look brave and I smirked. Suffering, huh? He says he loves it? I'm totally looking forward to making him love it more, he'll want to marry it.

"Then, Jason, you need to choose the third quest member. The dove-" I snorted. What was the Oracle thinking?  
"Oh, absolutely!" Drew was standing now, smiling at Jason. "The dove is Aphrodite. Everybody knows that. I'm totally yours."

My face scrunched in disgust, quickly noticing that I wasn't the only one. I'm totally going to commit murder if you're coming, I thought, mimicking Drew's annoying voice in my mind.

"No." Piper said angrily. I raised an eyebrow at her. Drew looked as if she'd just heard an extremely old joke, rolling her eyes like it was something stupid. "Oh please, Dumpster girl. Back off."

"I had a vision of Hera; not you. I have to do this."  
"Anyone can have a vision."

Dear Zeus, if this turned into a revolting cat fight…

Drew turned towards Jason. "Look, fighting is all fine, I suppose-" I growled at this. Fighting isn't just _fine_! "-And people who build things…" She looked at Leo like he was something stuck underneath her shoe. I didn't know if I should agree with her or not. "Well, I suppose someone has to get their hands dirty. But you need charm on your side. I can be very persuasive. I could help a lot."

I would've told her to go die in a hole full of her "charm" because all we needed was a little bit of force for someone to agree but I found myself nodding along with the others. She _was_ persuasive. Very.

"Well…given the wording of the prophecy-" Annabeth started. Even she was starting to believe in Drew. But, then…

"No!" Piper said, her voice was like Drew's, sweet and persistent. "I'm supposed to go." She told us. I raised an eyebrow but my mind told me that she was right. I began murmuring an agreement.

"Get over it! What can Piper do?" Drew told us. That seemed to snap us out of our trances as we looked at Piper. She looked at lost for words. There was a moment of silence as Drew smirked triumphantly. "Well, I guess that settles it." I was about to agree when something happened to the spot where Piper stood.

My eyes widened as a different girl stood there, demanding, "What?"

But, no…It _was_ Piper. She looked cleaner, more…endearing.(Gag, at the horrible choice of words.) She wore a bit of makeup that seemed to accentuate her face more and she was wearing a dress. A pure white V-neck dress, sleeveless, with gold armbands circling around her…well_, arms_. She also wore a necklace with yellowish-brown colored designs intertwining with coral and glittering golden flowers. Her hair was tied in to a loose braid with a golden ribbon, decorated by a few floral and shell ornaments. It was too complicated to describe properly.

"Oh, God," She gasped, no one even corrected her about the fact that it was, technically, "gods" not "God". "What's happened?" She demanded. Annabeth pointed to her dagger-she was too stunned to speak clearly-which was newly cleaned from the looks of it and she looked at her reflection. Her brows scrunched. I figured she didn't know what to say.

"Beautiful," Jason decided for her, breaking the silence. Surprised, Piper turned towards him. "Piper, you…you're a knockout." I wanted to say that, that wasn't what a knockout _was _but everyone was still trying to process what happened. The girl looked nothing like a daughter of…_Aphrodite_. Well, earlier she didn't but now on the other hand…

We were so busy looking shocked at Piper's claiming, no one noticed a curly black haired boy slip away.

"No!" Drew protested, looking mortified. "Not possible!" She said. I doubted Piper wanted to be her sister as much as she did. They would most likely murder each other in the dead of the night at that dollhouse they call _cabin_. (Seriously, after Silena left, the Aphrodite's really let themselves go a little bit. I would always wonder what a son of Aphrodite felt about their little house. Poor kid.)

"This isn't me," Piper said. "I-don't understand."

But nobody listened to her, as Chiron stepped forward, his face appropriate for that of a mourning friend, said:  
"Hail, Piper Mclean," He started. "Daughter of Aphrodite, lady of the doves, goddess of love."

* * *

After all the commotion died down, Piper was now sitting next to an angry Drew at the Aphrodite table. Murmurs were heard all throughout the place while the other campers were all preparing to leave. Annabeth, however, had one more thing in mind.

"Don't leave just yet. There is a fourth quest member, remember?" She told them. They all stopped what they were doing and looked at her. They obviously didn't remember because of the little stunt a certain goddess pulled just to show off her beloved little daughter. Annabeth nodded.

"Yeah, the prophecy said a spear-"

A thunder of shouts and yells of agreement were heard throughout the whole camp as my cabin started cheering for ourselves. The other new campers who hadn't seen us like this looked shocked at what we were doing while Annabeth was waiting for us to stop. After a few minutes and we didn't, Annabeth couldn't take it any longer.

"Shut up, Cabin five!" Of course, we wouldn't listen to her. She went red in the face and finally said, "Hera has already picked who in this cabin will be in the quest!"

The cheering died down immediately. I tried not to feel intimidated by the menacing looks some of my brothers were giving the other. Getting a quest was important because our father will know about it if we succeeded and would increase said person who is in the quest's brownie points. (Fighting monsters were an added bonus but after the Titan War and what happened to Silena…we all silently agreed that we kicked monster guts pretty okay. Of course, that didn't mean we wanted to stop fighting. That is just wrong. It's in our blood to like bloodshed.)

"Who?" Clarisse demanded, ironically the most reasonable of us all. I think losing someone close does that to you. But nobody mentions it to Clarisse, Chris already warned us about it. (Let's just say, he didn't get to play Capture the Flag for two weeks after that.) Annabeth's eyes flickered to me for a second but that was more enough.

The looks my siblings were giving me were unnerving but after a while, they all started to cheer, others more grudgingly than most. (They all cheered, even if some didn't want to, because we all knew that if one succeeded, our cabin would be "honored", or something like that. But, there's also another reason, though no one wants to talk about it.) I swallowed the pathetic feeling that tried to consume me and faced Jason, who looked at me disbelievingly. I nodded my head at him curtly and he seemed to take the message.

"Jason-uh-son of Zeus, King of the gods. Welcome to the…um, team…" He gave me a quick, unsure, smile. I guess he was intimidated by our multiple weapons and hard suits of armor. I bit back a cocky smirk-he was afraid of me-and narrowed my eyes just to scare him and make him feel more nervous.

"Sienna Harper, daughter of Ares, god of War and Violence."


	6. The Dragon Is Happy

_Sienna is kind of a hypocrite. I don't think it shows in this chapter and I don't think she knows...Oh, well. I just kinda realized it when I was writing the other chapters...And I think she has confusing thoughts...one minute she hates something, the other she doesn't. Don't worry, it'll change on the course of the story. Also, sorry if you think the romance is slow paced. I don't think Sienna is the person to believe in "love at first sight" and, if she did, she'd be in denial that she did it on Leo. _

_-The Drummer_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson.**

* * *

"I don't have to pretend to like them, do I?"

Annabeth was talking to me about the quest before she left this morning. I had already packed all the essential things needed to survive a world full of monsters. A hundred worth of mortal money, a small pouch full of drachma, a canteen filled with nectar, a pouch of ambrosia, and a few chocolate bars to eat. (You should always pack chocolate. Always.) I was probably going to lose them the first day we're gone. I also brought _Juggernaut, _(_Mega Dunamis_ was too long of a name. It's previous owner wasn't very creative with Greek names...) my double bladed, celestial bronze axe. I blackmai-I mean, I asked a son of Hecate to manipulate the Mist for me so it doesn't show when I carry my backpack. (Let's just say, I wanted to surprise Piper and the others.) I think he was too afraid to get revenge or even tell his siblings when I was done with him.

Annabeth shot me a look.

"They're new here. They probably don't-"  
"But that Jason kid knows a lot more than Jackson knew, and he defeated a Minotaur on his first day."

Annabeth was glaring at me. But only then did I realize what I was talking about. I shrugged, trying not to feel sorry for her.

"Just don't-Don't get yourselves killed. You know the camp's count-" I shot her a nasty look.  
"Thanks Chase. No pressure, at all. But…whatever. Besides, Hera told me to help them. Not_ her_. I don't need another stinking pep talk."

After the shock my siblings went through, they all started, one by one, to talk to me and tell me "advice", or whatever they want to call it. I figured they didn't know they were making me feel horrible, or that they're advice were the worst things I've heard all my life.

(_"Save Hera and make our dad proud of _us_, or _die_ trying! You're lucky you've got a quest. Remember! DIE TRYING, got that?"..."Don't worry, we won't hate you if you fail, we're just not going to talk to you for a few days, or months, maybe a year...but no pressure, right?"..."It's awesome you've got a quest, lil' sis! I just feel sorry for you that you've got the one about the worst goddess,"..."If Hera kills you, don't worry, your funeral will be the best ever! We'll make sure of that!"..._That last one was from my youngest half sister, just so you know.)

Annabeth shook her head. Her grip on her dagger tightened and I felt myself tense, ready for a fight. But, as it turns out, I was wrong. "Could you-" Her voice caught a bit and I knew immediately what she wanted me to do, I allowed her to continue. "Could you, maybe, look around for Percy, too? I mean, if it's-"

"I'd be looking for Percy even if you didn't tell me, Chase." I told her. She looked startled for moment but as quickly as it came, it was gone. She nodded and turned around after a few more checking of supplies. Percy was the one who told the gods to pay more attention to their kids. Ares was forced to be a little bit nicer to all of us because of that. I, unfortunately, owe him.

"Good luck with your quest, Harper." She said before stalking off. I nodded.  
"We'll find Jackson." I assured her, even though she wasn't there anymore.

A few more minutes ticked by and I was getting seriously impatient. Jason had told me that we were going to leave first thing in the morning, after we figured out a plan, but the fact that I already trained for a good half an hour was proof Leo didn't pull through. (Or, it was because I woke up at five in the morning-but that's really not the point.)

I bounded off to find Piper or Jason and nearly fell over when I saw a huge bronze dragon at the middle of the field. But, it wasn't because the dragon was the one Beckendorf fixed and went rogue, it was because perched on its back was a boy about my age, grinning like a mad scientist. His black curly hair sleeked back by oil. Goggles were strapped around his face and his whole body was smeared with, one can only guess, oil.

"Leo?"

It wasn't me who yelled that, it was Piper. Other campers were standing behind her, all gobsmacked. A few campers started coming together, too, to see the bronze dragon fixed. The Conch horn blew and a few satyrs started screaming. None of us really knew what was going on.

"It's cool! Don't shoot!" He said. I looked at him sarcastically. Yeah, we wouldn't want to hurt a large hard-to-beat killing machine we'd been trying to get rid off for weeks. _No way_. He raised his hands as if surrendering.

"People of earth, we come in peace!" And as if to prove his point, the dragon raised its head and shot a flurry of scorching hot fire to the sky. Yeah, we totally wouldn't want to kill that adorable and definitely safe creature. I shot it a nasty look and was preparing to incinerate it when Leo said,

"Festus is saying hello!" What a _warm _greeting! First day at camp and he already lost it. Clarisse looked livid.

"That thing is dangerous! Kill it now!" She took out her spear and pointed it at the dragon. But Jason seemed to think otherwise. "Stand down!" He yelled, pushing through the crowd. Behind him were Annabeth and Nyssa, both looking as confused as the others. Annabeth saw me and shot me a questioning look. She hadn't left for Percy, yet. I shrugged, not knowing what to make of this either.

"Leo, what have you done?" Jason asked, looking at the dragon, amazed, and giving Leo a bewildered look.

"Found a ride!" He answered excitedly. "You said I could go on the quest if I got you a ride. Well, I got you a class-A flying metallic bad boy! Festus can take us anywhere!"

Nyssa looked like she was contemplating if she'd gone insane and was having hallucinations.  
"It-" She paused, looking like she was still processing the whole thing. "-has wings."

"Yeah!" Leo announced. "I found them and reattached them." I raised a skeptical eyebrow. Where did he find them?

"But, it never had wings. Where did you find them?" Exactly! Leo looked like a deer caught in the headlights. He hesitated for a second before saying,"In…the woods."

I did not believe what he just said one bit. Woods? I've scouted the woods a thousand times with some of my siblings on Clarisse's orders, I would've known if there was a large set of golden wings lying around somewhere.

"Repaired his circuits, too, mostly, so no more problems with going haywire."

Mostly? That's not very reassuring. Apparently, Nyssa was thinking the same thing because she asked, "Mostly?" As if answering her question, the dragon tilted its head and a stream of oil came flowing out and onto Leo.

"Just a few kinks to work out," Leo shrugged. What the Hades? Kinks? What if it crashed while we were still in the air? That would be the worst way to get killed.

"But…how did you survive?" Nyssa asked. Does she want him dead? I guess she realized what she just implied because she added hastily, "I mean, the fire breath…" She looked like she couldn't believe she was seeing him breathing normally.

"I'm quick," He replied. I raised an eyebrow. _Very quick_. "And lucky. Now, am I in this quest, or what?" He asked Jason. Jason scratched the back of his head.

"You named the dragon Festus, Leo? You know that in Latin, "festus" means "happy", right? You want us to ride off and save the world on Happy the Dragon?" I tried not to laugh at that. We had a ride but, it also meant that he was coming.

"That's a yes, bro!" Leo exclaimed happily. "Now, um, I'd really suggest we get going, guys. I already picked up some supplies in the…um, woods. And all these weapons are making Festus nervous."

Jason shook his head. "But we haven't planned anything, yet. We can't just-" Annabeth cut him off. "Go," She said. She looked a bit sad and dreamy. I knew she was thinking about Percy. Jason looked like he was about to protest, I might've been, too, but Annabeth insisted.

"Jason, you've only got three days until the winter solstice, and you should never make a nervous dragon wait. This must be a good omen. Go!"

How does she know not to make a nervous dragon wait? But I didn't have time to think about that. Jason looked like he agreed and only proved me right by saying, "You ready, partner?" to Piper. She gazed at the enormous dragon. "You bet,". Who says "you bet" when someone just asks you to climb up a man-eating, not yet totally fixed, metal dragon to go on a mission that could probably kill you? I thought only us Ares kids do that (And Percy)? Apparently, we're not the only suicidal ones.

They climbed up the dra-no, I mean, Festus. I have to remember that the dragon has a name...Beckendorf might get extremely offended. They climbed up Festus and Leo was ready to head off when Piper shouted, "Wait! Sienna, come on!" Leo looked confused.

"Who?" Piper gave him an exasperated look. "The fourth member!" She said. Leo nodded. "Who's the fourth member?" I stepped forward.

"I am."

Leo looked surprised but it quickly turned in to a delighted expression, grinning lopsidedly. "You are? Man! I just keep getting lucky..." I didn't answer him and instead climbed on Festus. I gave him an annoyed expression once I was sitting in front of Piper and, unfortunately, right behind him.

"Wipe that grin off your face, Valdez, and fly."

* * *

It was pretty cold that day, the wind felt like it was trying to turn us into popsicles but the dragon made so much heat, I didn't even remember it was that cold. One of the quirks Festus had was his large artificial scales; they served as temporary seats so we don't slide of. Leo showed us how to secure our feet on the gaps of the armor so we could stay put. There was also a safety harness that Leo made, hidden by the outer cover of Festus' armor. He was pretty fast, too. We glided by valleys and mountains rapidly, in no time at all.

I didn't know what the mortals saw when they squinted and saw Festus way up in the sky. We were passing Connecticut when Leo decided to break the silence. It seems he couldn't stand not speaking or silence. He had to do something at all times, he couldn't stop. Of course, this was part of the ADHD all the demigods acquired, so we wouldn't get killed in battle, but it looked like if Leo wasn't born a demigod, he would _still_ have ADHD.

"Cool, right?" He asked all of us.

"Well, yeah, as long as we don't fall." I said by mistake. I have to admit, this experience _was_ overly awesome. But the fact that they know I think it is, was so wrong in so many levels, I decided not to comment on Leo's whoops of joy because of my statement. Piper, however, seemed to be thinking logically because she said, "What if we get spotted?"

I snorted.

"The Mist," I told her. She looked confused. "What's that?"

This time, Jason was the one who answered her.

"It keeps mortals from seeing magic things,"

"Magic things" were the worst way to put our greatness, but the piece of information that he knew about the Mist made me curious. I thought he had amnesia? He probably heard it from Annabeth, a part of me reasoned. "If they spot us, they'll probably mistake us for a small plane or something."

Piper looked over her shoulder. "Are you sure about that?"

I said, "Positive.", the same time Jason said, "No."

I glared at Leo's back. Some leader he is.

"We're making good time, probably get there by tonight." Jason stated. My eyebrows shot up.

"You know where we're going, Valdez?" I asked Leo, since he was the driver and it was logical to think that he knew. But, to my anger, he said, "Not really. No." Piper, hearing this, asked Jason where we were going before I could grasp the knowledge that Leo was driving but Jason didn't tell him right away where we were headed.

"To find the god of the North Wind," He stated. I grinned when he continued, "And chase some storm spirits." I'm liking this guy more and more by the minute.

"Awesome. Valdez, did you get all that?"  
"Yeah, but I don't really know where a god lives, y'know? Never really got a chance to get his address the first time I visited."

I hit the top of his head hard. "Don't mock me…"


	7. The God Of Boring

_If you're confused about Sienna's attitude towards Leo, it's simple really. (To me it is.) She just doesn't realize it and makes lame excuses. I'll tell you some other time, maybe she'll realize it in the future chapters. Sorry for updating late again!_

_-The Drummer_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson.**

* * *

Life in the air is pretty relaxing.

After Leo stopped complaining that his head hurt and that I was an incredibly violent and strong person (His words, not mine), we all decided silently that it was a good time to think things through. I, for one, find my situation extremely awkward. These guys knew each other before they went to camp (Or thought they knew, Piper and Leo were affected by the Mist) and I stuck out like a sore thumb. Could you imagine how uncomfortable that is? Imagine being the third wheel except you aren't, because there are four of you. Yeah, I know-not a good thing to feel.

I stared at the sky and breathed in the fresh air. (Don't look at me like that! I'm half god, HALF! I'm still part human. I enjoy the little things. Sometimes.) Then, I looked down and watched with mild interest as the mortals walked on, oblivious to the giant metal dragon-that could probably kill them- zooming up in the sky. Mortals are so stupid. (No offence, mortal. But, face it. You have no idea about what we are.) I was totally in peace when all of a sudden-

"Oh, shut up, me," Leo said out loud, in front of all of us. I raised an eyebrow and was going to say something when Piper said, "What?"

Leo shrugged, realizing he said that aloud.

"Nothing. Long night. I think I'm hallucinating. It's cool."

I did not like to hear that. What did he think we were going to say, _"Oh, really? You didn't sleep at all last night and now you're hallucinating while driving a flying mechanical dragon? Yeah, I understand. I wouldn't mind if we crashed and broke a couple of bones. I'm totally reassured."_? No, not in any circumstances would I have said that. I guess he realized we weren't very at ease with what he said because he tried to cover it up.

"Just joking." He amended. My eyes narrowed. Like I said, I'm totally reassured. He tried to change the subject next by asking Jason what we were going to do; Jason seemed to have already planned it out and told us what it was. I was silently praying to any god who was nice enough (Not many.) to listen after he was done listing it off. It had so many major flaws, you would think the Fates were screwing with us.

First, Jason wanted to find the god of the North Wind because he thinks he might know _something_.

"You want to look for Boreas?" I asked him, uncertainly. He nodded. Leo's head popped up.  
"His name is Boreas?" Leo asked, "What is he, the God of boring?"  
"No." I rolled my eyes sarcastically, he raised an eyebrow. "That's a different god."

He cracked a grin at what I just said and Piper looked at me weirdly. I have a feeling no one usually goes along with his antics. "You have one insane sense of humor." He told me. This time, it was my turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Pot calling the kettle black, eh, Valdez?" And, no, if you're asking, I don't have a "thing" for him. Come on, guys, we just met. I'm merely going along because I'm getting pretty frustrated by Jason's desire to get killed in the least "Elysium worthy" way.

Then-I personally like this part of the plan-he wanted to find the storm spirit-he calls them _Venti_- that tried to kill them at the Grand Canyon.

"Can we just call them storm spirits? _Venti_ makes them sound like evil espresso drinks." Leo said randomly after Jason stopped talking. I looked at him funny. Did his mom drop him when he was a baby, or something? I didn't even find it worth it to comment on what he just said. (Though it was funny enough.)

Lastly, they were going to find out who the storm spirits worked for, so they could find Hera and free her.

"So, you want to look for Dylan, the nasty storm dude, _on purpose_," Leo commented when he was done. I raised an amused eyebrow.

"The monster had a name?" I asked Piper. "Yeah, he disguised as a classmate for a few months."

I pursed my lips incredulously, ignoring her last statement.

"_And its name was Dylan?_" Piper nodded, a disgusted look on her face. "He flirted with me, too!"

"That _is_ disgusting." I agreed, unknowingly getting along with her.

"The guy who threw me off the skywalk and sucked Coach Hedge into the sky." Leo continued, ignoring us. My head snapped towards the two boys when I heard that, my conversation with Piper forgotten.

"You fell off a skywalk?" I asked Leo. He nodded, obviously thinking I cared.

"Did you, like, hit your head, or something?"  
"Yeah, I thought I was hallucinating! Man, _that _was a weird experience!"  
"What the Hades? Now I know why you act the way you do."  
"I've never had a pretty girl wor-Hey! That's insulting! I was born with my amazing personality."

"Well-" I was about to come up with a witty retort but Jason didn't let me continue.

"Stop it, you guys! Leo, concentrate on your driving. Sienna, do you know who the storm spirits work for?" He said. I scowled at him but thought of what he said. I remembered them working for someone…but I didn't catch his or her name. Usually, monsters work for anyone powerful enough to govern them.

"No." I told him. He seemed disappointed by that.

"Well, that's it…there may be a wolf involved, too. I think she's friendly. She probably won't eat us, unless we show weakness." I raised an eyebrow at this. Wolf? _She_-wolf?

Okay, why not?

But, I'm concerned about the weakness part. _I_ probably won't show it but I'm not sure with Leo or Piper, though. I was already trained for this kind of stuff, they weren't.

"Unless we show weakness?" I asked Jason.

"Pretty much."

I snorted. "We're all screwed, then. Valdez would probably get us eaten." Okay, you're probably wondering about my change of personality or the changes of how I act towards him. Well, _sor_-ry, if you were expecting better treatment because of a few jokes shared, you're sorely mistaken. And, in case you're wondering, I'm not like this towards Piper because Aphrodite loves all of her children and one wrong move against Piper, Aphrodite would totally consider cursing me to the depths of Tartarus. (This puts me in my dad's bad books, seeing as he'll be on the receiving ends of his consort's complaints.)-But unless it isn't major enough to get Piper to cry, I'm all good. And, thank the gods, she doesn't look like a girl to cry easily.

"Seriously, what d'you have against me? Is it my intense awesomeness? Are you too intimidated? 'Cause, if you are, I'd-" I glared at him and he abruptly stopped, grinning innocently like there was nothing wrong with the world.

"Shut up, you dolt." I ordered.

"Stop it, again with this. If you guys are going to be like this through the entire quest, then, yes, Sienna, as you so elegantly put it, we're all _screwed_." Piper said. My eyes instantly narrowed on her and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Leo and I didn't speak again after that and Jason took this as a cue to start talking. He told us the details of his dream about a vicious she-wolf and a burned house. That's demigod dreams for you; you can never really escape the world one of your parents left you with. Specifically, the godly side.

"Uh-huh, you do know where this house is, right?" Leo said after Jason finished.

"Nope." Jason said. All I heard was: _We're all goners_. I was starting to get extremely pessimistic whenever Jason talked about the plan so, naturally, Piper decided to add bright pink icing to the already horrible cake. And you know how much I hate _pink_. (Or maybe you don't-either way.)

_"There's also giants."_ _She said._ _"The prophecy said the giants' revenge."_ _She said_, I mimicked her warning in my head bitterly.

"Yeah, real comforting." I muttered lowly so no one would hear.

"Hold on," Leo said, looking pale. "_Giants_-like, more than one? Can't it be like one giant who wants revenge?"

"Not going to happen."  
"I don't think so,"

Me and Piper, respectively, said at the same time. I was shaking my head. In a demigod's life, nothing is always _that_ easy. Since we're the only entertainment ancient deities had for more than a century, of course, our life has to be at least interesting. People say they've got it tough, they have _no idea_.

"I remember in some old Greek stories, there was something about an army of giants." Piper continued. I glared at her for making a tiny bit of sense.

Although my inner Ares was rejoicing at the fact that there were monsters like them to kill, my rational side-which I never really listen to unless it's important-says I was going to fight giants with two new demigods, who virtually had no idea about this world, and a guy who had amnesia, who was as bad as the previous. I was so lost in my thought, I only came back to reality when Leo said something that interested me. (You should be surprised.)

"…research for that movie with your dad." That piqued my interest because I don't think any sane person would research just for a bunch of movies. Unless they aren't _watching_ them.

Impossible, I thought.

"Your dad's an actor?" Jason asked, apparently as interested as I was. Leo laughed and my brows furrowed. What was I missing here?

"I keep forgetting about your amnesia. Heh. Forgetting about amnesia. That's funny," I saw Piper glance at me nervously and nudge Leo in a way to tell him to stop. I raised an eyebrow. Did she think I wouldn't see her reach over me to get to him?

"Is he?" I urged Leo, sending Piper a challenging glance over my shoulder. Her eyes went wide at this and she bit her lip. But, to my pleasure, Leo complied, but not before sending me a look. He stopped laughing and nodded at Jason.

"But yeah, her dad's Tristan Mclean." My other eyebrow, the one not raised, joined its companion and got lost in my dirty blonde hair. Piper was looking at me pleadingly and I smirked.

"So, your dad's Tristan Mclean?" I questioned. Piper nodded slightly. She clearly didn't want anyone to know.

"Uh-sorry," Jason said, looking troubled. I wasn't. "What was he in?" He asked. I agreed with him.

"Yeah, _princess_, what was he in? Isn't he, like, _big_ in the business? I didn't know you were rich…" I looked at Piper, now fully addressing her. I hadn't said her name and I was now planning on doing no such thing. Piper looked like she couldn't believe I had the nerve to call her "princess" but also looked like she wasn't going to tell me off any time soon. She gave an annoyed sigh.

"It doesn't matter, the giants-well, there were lots of giants in Greek mythology. But if I'm thinking of the right ones, they were bad news. Huge, almost impossible to kill. They could throw mountains and stuff. I think they were related to the Titans. They rose from the earth after Kronos lost the war-" I stiffened visibly. I lost some of my half siblings at that war. A lot of campers were lost, too.

Silena…Beckendorf...Micheal…Lee…

I bowed my head slightly in respect. Piper, noticing my sullen expression, went wide eyed. She tried to correct what she said, but I was only half listening. What's done was done.

"I mean the first Titan war, thousands of years ago-" She glanced at me again. "-and they tried to destroy Olympus. If we're talking about the same giant-" She was stopped by Jason.

"Chiron said it was happening again," He reminded all of us. I inclined my head towards him a little bit. "The last chapter. That's what he meant. No wonder he didn't want us to know all the details." My expression darkened.

Leo, who didn't seem to notice the tense atmosphere in the air, whistled. "So… giants who can throw mountains. Friendly wolves that will eat us if we show weakness. Evil espresso drinks. Gotcha! Maybe this isn't the time to bring up my psycho babysitter." I looked at him questioningly, waiting for him to say that he was kidding. Instead, Piper was the one who spoke.

"Is that another joke?"

A wise question. Since I would peg Leo as the prankster type like the Stoll brothers, who are trouble making sons of Hermes, you'd never know if he was pulling your leg or actually being serious. (Which is a rare occurrence)

He froze, eyes wide. He seemed to be speechless. Finally, after a few seconds he started telling us about his Tia Callida-Hera disguised as a mortal-who was his babysitter when he was a little boy, he told us she appeared at camp. At that part, I couldn't help but fidget slightly.

So, he thought the old lady was his insane old babysitter? No wonder he was so freaked out, I thought. No one noticed my reaction though, and as Leo continued, he looked like he was still keeping something from us. Piper and Jason noticed, too, but didn't pressure him for it. He also told us about a sleeping woman in mud like robes who could tell the future.

After that, there was an awkward silence that ensued where the only things heard were the slight mutterings Leo made. I didn't know what he was talking about and I didn't get to ask.

"That's…disturbing." Piper finally decided to break the ice. I gave her an _"Oh, really?"_ look. Leo nodded.

"'Bout sums it up," He consented. "Thing is, everybody says don't trust Hera-" I cut him off.

"_Which_, are good advice." I stated. Never trust someone that throws babies off mountains just because they're ugly.

"She hates demigods-"

"She actually really does. From what I've heard." Clarisse hates it when Annabeth keeps complaining about Hera at meetings when she's got the chance, so my sister, ever so mature, kept mimicking what she said in a whiny voice in our cabin at the end of the day. They were pretty funny.

"And the prophecy said we'd cause death if we unleash her rage. So, I'm wondering…why are we doing this?" He concluded. I spoke before anyone could answer him.

"Damn, Valdez. I know, for sure, that this is the first time in your life that you're actually making sense." I stated. He-you're not going to believe this-rolled his eyes at me. I glared at him. I never thought he had the guts. (Okay, so I knew he had the guts when it came to me-my whole family, really. It's like an Athena-Hates-Poseidon-So-Their-Children-Feel-The-A fter-Effects kind of thing. Except with my dad and Leo's.)

"I make a lot of sense." He argued. I shook my head. "Says who?"

"Stop it." Jason ordered. I raised an eyebrow but stopped.

"She chose us," He said. "All four of us. We're the first of the seven who have to gather for the Great Prophecy. This quest is the beginning of something much bigger." I stopped when he said that. I shook my head and he looked at me like he was crazy.

"No offence, dude, but you're wrong," He was about to argue when I raised a hand to stop him. I wanted to clear things up. I loved killing monsters, and also my dad would actually be proud of me if I was part of the Great Prophecy, but there was something inside me, compelling me to tell the truth. Telling me that I shouldn't-_couldn't_, really-come with them. "Seriously. She _did_ choose us, but she chose me for a different reason. I'm not part of that seven." I told him.

"What reason, exactly?" Piper interjected.  
"She said I should help you so…That's pretty much it." I blinked.  
"She _talked _to you?" She asked, bewildered.

"She likes to talk to a lot of people, princess, not just _you_-Whatever. I'm just saying. I'm not part of that seven." Piper nodded her head and Jason said, "If you say so."

They didn't seem to want to argue with me. Understandable, I thought. Who would argue with a demigod who, in first sight, you already know has anger management problems? Not many, except, of course, Percy. (I shudder when remembering the stupid toilet water. Not a good experience.)

"Bummer. It would've been a lot more fun if you were there-_if_ we were actually going to save the world again." Leo nodded. I raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Jason continued on after realizing we were still unconvinced about the "Saving Hera" thing. (Of course it was all an act, we just wanted an excuse to start talking again. It was, actually, insanely boring.)

"Besides, helping Hera is the only way I can get back my memory-"

"Of course, it's all about you, right?" I muttered sarcastically. Jason tinged pink, Leo actually laughed a bit at what I said, and Piper seemed to be trying hard not to glare at me. I was seriously enjoying myself.

"That dark spire in my dream seemed to be feeding off of Hera's power. If that thing unleashes a king of the giants by destroying Hera-"

"Which is understandable." I declared. Only Hera could unleash an evil and, no doubt, ugly king of giants. They all looked at me like I was nuts. Yes, even evil-espresso-drink Leo. Talk about hypocrisy. I scoffed at them.

"Not a good trade-off," Piper said. I nodded. "At least, Hera is on our side-" She stopped and had a thoughtful expression on her face. "-mostly." She decided.

"Losing her would throw the gods into chaos. She's the main one who keeps the peace in the family. And a war with the giants could even be more destructive than the Titan War."

She was, in all actuality, making sense.

"Then, whoever the guy doing this better have a good reason for trying to start war again." I grumbled. Piper and Jason looked at me incredulously. I did everything I could not to glare at them. It wasn't enough. Piper flinched at my stare and Jason looked away. I stopped. It wouldn't do me any good if there was tension in the air whenever we talked. But I didn't like the way they judged my cabin just because our dad is kind of a douche. Thunder boomed. I didn't even say sorry.

"What? I do love wars and fighting but other demigods don't seem to understand that we, Ares kids, hate it if it's for a stupid reason…"  
There was an awkward silence. I noticed Leo wasn't speaking. Thank the gods, I thought. Jason faked a cough and we continued on with our conversation. I guess this was how it was going to be. Jason reminded us about what Chiron said. About the winter solstice being the best time for dark magic, powerful enough to sacrifice Hera. He also told us about a mistress who was controlling the storm spirits.

"Might be that weird sleeping lady," Leo supplied. I grudgingly agreed with him. "Dirt woman fully awake? Not something I want to see." I bit my lip.

"Me agreeing with a son of Hephaestus? Not something my dad would be proud of. But…I think you're right. Let's hope those storm spirits of hers remember what happened to _Dylan_." Leo gave me a half smile, looking a little over his shoulder. I didn't see it, though. I was too engrossed on the dirt woman he was talking about.

"But who is she?" Jason pondered. "And what those she have to do with giants?" I didn't have an answer for that. There was a reason my dad wasn't the god of wisdom.

After a while, my ADHD picked up on the frostiness of the wind. I think I was too distracted about our little chat, I didn't realize it was getting colder. Come to think of it, Leo was shivering in front of me. And so was Piper behind me. I was willing to bet that in a few minutes, with our speed, my breath would be visible. This was complete torture.

I noticed Piper scoot closer to me. I looked over my shoulder with a raised eyebrow.

"What're you doing, princess?" I asked her. She put a hand up to silence me and leaned forward, pass my shoulder.

"Why don't you get some sleep?" She said, addressing Leo. My eyes widened.

"Are you crazy?" I whispered angrily. I thought I saw Piper smirk.  
"He was up all night." She reasoned.  
"But that doesn't-" I saw Leo sway a bit.

"You won't let me fall off?" He asked Piper, I guess he didn't hear our conversation. Piper nodded. What the Hades-?  
"Sure. Sienna won't let you fall off. Right, Sienna?" I was about to protest. I really was. But Piper kept on talking. She patted Leo on the shoulder like she was doing this for the greater good.

"Trust me, Valdez. Beautiful people never lie."

"I resent that." I said, eyeing her. "You're here in front of me."

"Actually, Leo's in front of you."  
"Technicalities."

I shouldn't have talked to her that long, because the next thing I knew, Leo was slumped on Festus' neck. And he was about to fall.

"Styx!" I cursed while thunder boomed again. I put my hands on his waist and supported him. I leaned forward a little to adjust my hold. This was harder than I thought it would be.

"Curse you, Mclean." I said, fuming. I heard her chuckle and my eyes narrowed. Wasn't she afraid of me a few minutes ago?  
"Come on, have a heart, he's tired. But…That's for calling me _"princess"_, too." She whispered in my ear.

I was going to murder her.


	8. Brothers With Lavender Wings

_I'm sorry for not updating in a loooooooooong time. Even I realized that. It's just that...since I live in the Philippines, we are celebrating "Buwan ng Wika" (Month of Language) and I am participating in it. Busy, busy, busy. Also, I reread my earlier chapters and, boy, are they, for lack of better words, shitty. I'm planning on editing them when I get the tenth chapter posted. And, this is really embarrassing, I would like to know if my story is good (according to some of you, it is) and since every time I log in, I forget about the mistakes, could you point it out for me, too? I'm not one to ask for reviews, but, can you? It's okay of you don't want to...I'm just asking. I don't mean to come off as pushy or anything._

_-The Drummer _

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson.**

* * *

My position was extremely uncomfortable.

I complained all the way to Quebec, it wasn't even funny anymore. On the way, Piper and I seemed to have developed a weird "acquaintanceship".

After an hour of whining, Piper got the courage to tell me to shut up and that Leo wasn't that heavy. (He was, also, very warm. So warm, in fact, that I actually forgot that it was pretty cold.)

Easy for her to say, I thought. She wasn't the one who was practically carrying him. (Actually, he wasn't that heavy. I just convinced myself that he was.)

"Hey, Sienna," Piper called from behind me. I grunted as a reply. She continued anyway, as if my sour disposition in life didn't affect her in any way. "We're almost there. Wake Leo up."

I wanted to tell her to keep her mouth shut and that she was below me and I didn't take orders from her because of that. (Ironic, considering Hera practically said I would be their servant for a few days.) I wanted to tell her to wake him up herself since she was the one who told him to sleep, but I didn't because, in that precise moment, a giant red brick wall was right in front of me.

"Whoa," I gasped.

"Whoa, is right." Jason said.

The building was huge, with, like I said, red brick walls. It looked as if it had been here for a thousand years. It had a green pointed roof like the clock tower, Big Ben's, only a little wider and lower. A dozen windows were positioned evenly all throughout the wall but it showed nothing of what was happening inside, though not tinted black. (You could not imagine how confused I was because of that. It was only a while later did I think of curtains.) Below us, layers of snow piled on the, I'm assuming, once green landscape. Shops were crammed together, their windows glowing a soft yellow. A few owners were closing the store for the night.

The sun was setting gradually, contrasting with the whiteness of the land. All in all, it looked like the usual Christmas holiday vacation spot shopping centers tried so hard to imitate but failed miserably. Though, if you were to tell that to the people below, I'm sure they'd be offended.

"It's so beautiful." Piper said wistfully. Even though I couldn't see them, I knew Jason nodded beside her-he just seemed like the kind of person to agree on everything his ladylove says. Piper looked at me pointedly. I knew what she wanted me to do and didn't protest anymore.

I nudged Leo to wake him up and, when I did, he stirred.

"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty." I told him gruffly. At the sound of my voice, his eyes opened instantly. He looked up and locked eyes with me. I felt a weird sense of nervousness go through me-it wasn't good or bad...it was just _there_. My eyebrows clashed together for a moment.

_Was I getting sick? _

I unconsciously moved closer to Leo, thinking it was because of the cold.

"We're here." Piper said. He looked around and spotted the fairly large building. He paused for a moment, seeming to process the image in his brain. Finally, he decided to speak.

"Please tell me that's Quebec and not Santa's workshop."

I rolled my eyes. "Why? Want to apply?"

I don't think anybody got my joke. I was actually referring to the fact that he looked like an elf. Leo gave me an incredulous look.

"Yeah," Piper said, I take it she didn't understand my joke, too, then. "One of the oldest cities in America. Founded around sixteen hundred or so?" I raised an eyebrow at this.

"Are you sure you're not a child of Athena and we just misinterpreted your claiming?" I mused aloud.

"Nah, I'm thinking her dad did a movie about that, too. Right, Beauty Queen?" Leo said.

I looked over my shoulder to see Piper's reaction. She bit her lip and fidgeted slightly. She also gave Leo a look but he didn't seem fazed by this, I think it was because Piper was still wearing makeup. It was hard to take her seriously for some reason.

"I read sometimes, okay?" She said, a little angrily. I muttered the word _"Shocker"_, but stopped, thinking about Silena's expression when we underestimate her cabin. Sometimes, I forget about that, which sickens me to no end.

"Just because Aphrodite claimed me, doesn't mean I have to be an airhead."

Leo said, "Feisty!" the same time I said, "No, I think that's Jason."

I could practically feel Jason's eyes on my back. I smirked.

"Kidding." _Not_, I added as an afterthought.

Leo laughed at my expense before he turned back to Piper.

"So you know so much, what's that castle?"

"A hotel, I think." She answered, looking quizzically at the building. I nodded.

"Could be." Gods tend to stay at where their powers fit the most and live on unlikely places there. Maybe Boreas marked a part of this hotel as his own. Leo snickered.

"No way!"

Festus got closer to the building and we saw that it was, indeed, a hotel. Regular mortals were scurrying below, carrying bags and luggage. A Valet was nodding his head while an obviously rich mortal handed him a key to an obsidian Mercedes up front. Porters were scattered around the entrance, ready to offer a hand.

"Way," I muttered in contradiction to Leo's earlier statement. His eyes widened.

"The North Wind is staying in a hotel?" Leo said, perplexed. "That can't be-"

"Heads up, guys, we've got company." Jason warned us. I looked around and my jaw went taut as I caught sight of two winged figures. I bared my teeth-they were wielding swords.

"This can't be good!" I told them.

"You think?" Leo asked. I didn't have time to tell him off.

Festus stopped mid-flight, his wings were stretched out and he made a sound that I knew all too well. I cursed. He was going to set them on fire. The figures were growing bigger and clearer by the minute. I cursed again, they wouldn't like this. I wanted to tell Festus to stop. I knew he was trying to protect us but we were going to get in trouble even before the quest got into full climax.

Luckily, Leo seemed to be thinking along the same lines as me.

"Steady, boy," I heard him say. I involuntarily gave a nod of approval.

"I don't like this," Jason muttered. None of us don't, I thought. "They look like storm spirits."

"Or worse," I said. Leo heard me and straightened, looking panicked.

The figures came into view and I almost laughed out loud when I caught sight of them. They looked ludicrous.

At first glance, you would've believed they were regular teen mortals. But their ashen colored hair and their…_lavender wings, _proved otherwise_._ My insides twisted in an uncomfortable way and a snort escaped my lips-feeling about to explode, I laughed. I tried to cover it up with a cough.

They might as well have used butterfly wings, I thought. They looked pretty comical. Leo looked at me like I had gone crazy over his shoulder.

The two winged-whatever they are, I have no clue-looked exactly the same, though they were no Stoll brothers. The first one was _big_. He wore a large hockey sport shirt, buckskin cleats, and loose sweatpants. Large circles surrounded his eyes, like he just got into a fight with one of my brothers and lost horribly, and he tried to looked menacing by baring his teeth, like I did, but it didn't work because some if his teeth seemed to have gone on a vacation.

I sneered at him but he didn't seem to notice.

The other one was insanely old-fashioned. His pants were so tight, I couldn't bear to look lower than his stomach and he wore a silk shirt with the first three buttons unhinged. He looked so horrible, it made me shudder.

I will have nightmares, I thought.

He wore cleats, like his companion, but it was sharp on the end. His hair looked like it was supposed to be a messy short style on the front side but it grew long and straight on the back. Silena would be horrified by this. I involuntarily glanced at Piper.

She looked traumatized.

I blinked. Their clothes, coupled with the fact that their feathery wings were the color of purple, made them look supremely nasty. At least the big one looked a bit more normal.

"No clearance." The big one said.

The Hades?

"'Scuse me?" Leo said.

My jaw dropped the instant the horrible looking one spoke. He had this French accent that I knew he tried hard to imitate-_too hard_. I've heard the Aphrodite cabin speak the language.

_This is a scandal!_, I mimicked one of them in my head.

"You have no flight plan on file." He told us snobbishly. "This is restricted airspace."

My eyes narrowed and my nostrils flared. I'll show you restricted, I thought, eying his thin neck.

He must've noticed my look because one of his eyebrows rose a bit.

"Destroy them?" The other one said enthusiastically. I would've approved by the way his mind worked, if it weren't us he was talking about.

Festus released steam aggressively at what he said and I took out my weapon the same time Jason brandished his sword. Piper took a sharp intake of breath at the sight of what I was holding, clearly surprised. I couldn't blame her. I hid my baby, Juggernaut, inside my bag so they wouldn't see. The two creatures in front of us prepared, too, but Leo seemed not want to engage in battle because he shouted,

"Hold on! Let's have some manners here, boys. Can I at least find out who has the honor of destroying me?"

Smart move, I thought. I looked at him from the corner of my eye. Always know your attacker so you know who you're up against. I reacted on impulse. I never thought of that.

"I am Cal!" The big one said immediately. He looked real happy, as if memorizing that sentence was the greatest accomplishment in his life. I raised an eyebrow at him, amused. And I thought Dylan was a bad name for a monster.

"That's short for Calais," The horrible looking one said. Calais? Where have I heard that before? "Sadly, my brother cannot say words more than two syllables-"

"Pizza, Hokey, Destroy!" Calais interrupted.

Leo nodded, mock wisely, beside me. He whispered next to me so the others wouldn't hear, "The three most important things in life."

I snorted.

"-which includes his own name," The horrible one finished.

"I am Cal," Calais said again, nodding. He then pointed to his companion. "And this is Zethes! My brother!" He said proudly, puffing his chest and grinning. I didn't know what he could be proud of; I would've been ashamed if I were him.

"Wow," Leo said. I glanced at him, knowing he was going to say something stupid but hoping it wasn't _that _idiotic-But the gods truly _were _cruel.

"That was almost three sentences, man! Way to go!"

My eyes widened and I tried not to gape like a fish out of water. What the Hades? I clutched my weapon tighter.

"Are you trying to get us attacked?" I hissed under my breath, glaring at nothing in particular since I was trying to be alert, I couldn't look at him straight.

"Nah, I think I'm trying to get us _killed_," He said back.  
"Yeah, because that makes it _so_ much better!"

Calais grunted at what Leo said, thinking it was a compliment. Leo laughed silently in front of me. I nudged him as hard as I could near his abdomen. The pained sound that came from him made me smile, satisfied. I turned back to Calais and Zethes.

"Stupid buffoon," His brother stated, glaring at him. "They make fun of you. But no matter. I am Zethes, which is short for Zethes."

Leo said something under his breath again.

"Wow, that's an awesome nickname. It's so short and simple. Not like his real name, at all."

"And that lady there-" For a short terrifying moment, I thought he winked at me. But then, I thought, Piper is right behind me. "She can call me anything she likes. Perhaps she would like to have dinner with a famous demigod before we must destroy you."

I stifled a laugh.

"No thanks, Piper just isn't my type." Leo said, although no one, but me, heard.

Piper made a sound you would think was made by a dying, wounded animal.

"That is…a truly horrifying offer."

I nodded in agreement but Zethes seemed to have not noticed the disgust and utter revulsion evident in Piper's voice because he waggled his eyebrows. I nearly gagged.

"It is no problem." He said, almost seductively. Oh gods, no. I _did_ gag.

"We are very romantic, we Boreads."

I almost felt sorry for Piper. "This is seriously-"

Jason stopped what I was going to say.

"Boreads?" Jason asked them. "Do you mean, like, the sons of Boreas?"

Zethes smiled pompously. "Ah, so you've heard of us." No. Not really, no, I thought. "We are father's gatekeepers. So you understand, we cannot have unauthorized people flying in his airspace on creaky dragons-" He was cut off by the least likely person.

Me.

"Festus isn't creaky!" I yelled, outraged.

Beckendorf loved this dragon like his own son before he left. Of course, I haven't really had a proper conversation with him since I think talking to Hephaestus kids if not necessary would anger my dad, I heard he was an extremely okay guy. And though he didn't speak much, he was a great leader.

Silena was totally depressed because of his death and didn't speak for weeks on end. Her last words were Beckendorf's name. (It's really not entirely about Silena, if you think I'm just angry because of Silena's reaction towards Beckendorf's death, you're mistaken. Beckendorf died like a hero.)

Insulting this dragon would be like an insult to Beckendorf's memory! Insulting his memory would be like insulting Silena! (You have to admit, it _is _true.)

Even I stopped my overly violent thoughts about this dragon-_Festus_-just to appease them.

How-how _dare_ he! I thought, glaring at the ugly winged idiot.

I didn't see Jason's, Piper's, or Leo's reaction to my outburst because my eyes were now dangerously fixed on Zethes. He glared at me before coughing and continuing. He obviously thought I was a waste of time. That only made me even madder. I'm worth something!

"-scaring silly mortal peoples." He pointed downwards. I tore my gaze away from him and followed what he was pointing at. Some mortals were looking up, but they didn't look scared. They just looked irritated. I wondered what they saw. Maybe a giant copter stuck in mid-air, blocking their view of the sky.

"Which is sadly why," I looked at him again, caught off guard by his voice since my ADHD took over my brain. "Unless this is an emergency landing, we will have to destroy you all." My glare returned.

"Destroy!" Calais nodded earnestly. He reminded me scarily of me and my cabin mates.

I readied myself. Adrenaline cursed through my veins as my heart pumped loudly inside my chest.

If they wanted to play the game of destruction, I'll happily oblige.

"Wait!" Piper said, looking alarmed. I huffed, lowering Juggernaut. "This is an emergency landing!" She told them. Zethes pretended to think, figuring it as an excuse to stare at Piper more. Disgust was slowly showing on my face.

"How does the pretty girl decide this as an emergency, then?"

Piper smiled at him widely, but her eyes stayed firmly on him. Not a crinkle. A smile never looked so artificial.

It must've been really hard for her, I thought.

"We have to see Boreas. It's totally urgent. Please?" Even though her smile was seriously off, I found myself slowly nodding to what she had said. Jason was doing the same behind her, I saw, and Leo looked like it really was urgent, obviously believing Piper.

Then, I figured, this was what happened on the campfire that night. A bulb went up inside my head. She was using Charmspeak!

Charmspeak is a gift that only a few children of Aphrodite have-it makes you seem unable to refuse anything they want. It clouds your mind and makes you think that helping or believing her was a right thing to do. A handy gift, but dangerous, too.

Zethes looked dazed for a moment then looked down at his shirt, he must be thinking it attractive if Piper could see his bare hideous chest.

"Well…I hate to disappoint a lovely lady, but you see, my sister, she would have an avalanche if we allowed you-"

A sister? I tried to remember a daughter of Boreas. Who?

Think, I thought. Then, I finally found my answer. A few weeks ago, Malcolm, a son of Athena, was lecturing us, Ares kids, for not knowing enough Greek mythology. He mentioned some minor goddesses, and I specifically remember him say something about a daughter of Boreas. A minor goddess of snow…

Khione! Yes, a daughter of Boreas and his immortal wife Oreithyia.

Hah! Take _that_, Malcolm!

"And our dragon is malfunctioning!" Piper insisted, slightly panicking. Festus, ever so smart, shuddered violently and tilted his head, pouring oil on the black Marcedes I saw earlier. I frowned. Poor-_beautiful_-black Marcedes…

Calais looked like Christmas had been canceled. "No destroy?" He whined.

Zethes looked like he was thinking about it, but one look from Piper, I knew we had won the argument. He winked at her again, "Well, you are pretty. I mean, you're right." He corrected. Leo and I seemed to be silently shaking with laughter. "A malfunctioning dragon-this could be an emergency."

I whispered a silent, "Score!"

"Destroy them later?" Calais added hopefully.

I growled, feeling a stab irritation for him. "I'll show you des-"

Piper pinched from behind, creating sharp feeling, like being beaten by a large ant, rush all over me. I yelped, surprised. I turned to give her a piece of my mind but she gave me a "Stop it now!" look. I begrudgingly obliged.

"It will take some explaining," Zethes said, giving me a glance. I think he sensed my killer intent. His eyebrows draw together slightly. "Father hasn't been kind to visitors lately. But, yes. Come, faulty dragon people. Follow us."

My eye twitched at the "Faulty dragon" part, but I kept my mouth shut.

They pulled out something from their belts; I straightened, thinking it was a trap. But, to my surprise, it was a flashlight with orange cones. They switched it on, then flew towards the tower of the hotel.

Leo looked back at us, "I love these guys. Follow them?"

"I was thinking of a much stronger emotion." I told him. He smirked at me, finding my annoyance entertaining.

"I guess," Jason muttered. "We're here now. But I wonder why Boreas hasn't been kind to visitors."

"Pfft, he just hasn't met us!" Leo said. "Festus, follow those lights!"

And follow, Festus did.


	9. A Queen's Cold Persona

_Boy, for my first story on this site, I'm seriously giving off the vibe that I'm a lazy writer. Sorry 'bout that, to compensate, I give you...well, you'll find out in the end of the chapter._

_-The Drummer_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson. **

* * *

"You won't get even a foot near him even until the day you _disintegrate_, punk. Back off! No one else gets to destroy him but _me_." I hissed at Calais and Zethes, stepping in front of Leo.

It turns out, Boreas lived at the Penthouse suite of the hotel; it was also modified to look like a winter wonderland with frost covering the furniture. The ceiling was arched, and there were ornamental carpets cold as ice, and crunched like snow when stepped on. There was a colossal hall at the back of the room and a dozen corridors on each side.

When we first stepped inside, the two brothers wanted to deactivate Festus because they couldn't have fire inside, and, as Zethes puts it, "the heat ruined _his_ hair". (I was all for making Festus release scorching hot steam when he said that.) Festus didn't like the idea of being switched off, so Leo turned him into a suitcase using a feature he made when he was preparing the dragon. (Don't tell Valdez this but...I thought it was pretty cool. Again.) Although, I think I'm the only one who could lift him, and, even then, I could only raise him for an inch.

After that, they accused Leo of being a child of the South Wind, sent to spy on them, which caused Leo to respond that he wasn't, and that he was a son of Hephaestus, "friendly blacksmith". I think it was because Leo smelled like fire to them, all children and Hephaestus were; he tried to pass that his clothes were singed because he was working with oil off, but the brothers didn't believe him.

They talked about destroying him, with Leo trying to defend himself, but they weren't listening. Leo asked help from us-since the brothers weren't wavering-and Piper tried to convince them that "we were all friends here", but Zethes declined. Calais then asked him if they should destroy him now, and Zethes was about to agree when I had enough.

I was the only one who got to talk to Leo, Piper, and even Jason, like that on this quest. And, besides, Hera picked me because she thought I could protect them best. No one is going to touch a single hair on their heads while I'm still breathing.

Zethes looked offended. "Then, if that is so, we will have to destroy you first. Who knows? Maybe you, also, are a spy for the South Wind. After that, we could proceed to destroy him." After he said that, he nodded, like he was just contemplating what he was going to eat for dessert and had a hard time picking. I growled.

"No," Jason interjected. I glanced at him and saw that he, too, was trying hard not to pull out his magical coin and bust their heads like no tomorrow, just to be done with it. "Leo is just a son of Hephaestus. Sienna is a daughter of Ares. They're no threat." I glared at him. Leo, I suppose, wasn't much of a threat. But I was more than a little bit dangerous. I mean, for the gods' sake, I trained every day since I was nine. I'm not going to let that go to waste. Jason totally ignored my fury, though, and continued on.

"Piper, here, is a daughter of Aphrodite. I'm the son of Zeus. We're on a peaceful…" Jason suddenly stopped because the Boreads didn't feel it important to glare at Leo anymore and faced him.

"What did you say?" Zethes said. "You are the son of Zeus?"

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to regard yourself as "_the"_ son of Zeus, I thought, tensing.

"Um…yeah," Jason admitted uncertainly. I was silently willing him to stop talking. Unfortunately, it just wasn't my day. "That's a good thing, right? My name is Jason."

Calais almost dropped his sword, looking at Jason, flabbergasted. "Can't be Jason," He said. I raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't look the same." Jason glanced back at us and I caught his eye.

_Do you know them?_ I mouthed incredulously. He shook his head slightly.

_Never met them before in my life._ He mouthed back. I nodded with furrowed eyebrows.

"Just thought I should ask…" I whispered this time and he nodded.

During my conversation with Jason, Zethes stepped in front of him and seemed to examine him. Said son of Zeus looked extremely uncomfortable, fidgeting slightly. "No, he is not our Jason. Our Jason was more stylish. Not as much as me-but stylish. Besides, Jason died millennia ago."

I stopped shacking with laughter about the "stylish" part and my mouth hung agape. What the Hades?

"Wait," Jason said, looking equally as astonished as me. "Your Jason…You mean, the original Jason? The Golden Fleece guy?"

Zethes looked proud, silently saying yes to _our_ Jason's question.

"Whoa," I gasped. These guys were _old_.

"Of course," Zethes nodded, puffing his chest pompously. "We were his crew-mates aboard his ship, the Argo, in the old times, when we were mortal demigods. Then, we accepted immortality to join our father, so I could look this good for all time, and my silly brother could enjoy pizza and hokey."

Calais grinned enthusiastically, "Hockey!"

Leo, seeming to forget that they were having this conversation because the Boreads wanted to destroy him, nodded mock sagely. "The only reason good enough to accept immortality for. Pizza and hockey." He said under his breath, I tried to disguise my laugh as a cough.

"But Jason-our Jason-died a mortal death," Zethes continued, not hearing Leo. "You can't be him."

"I'm not." Jason conceded. Calais looked like he was given a room filled with _pizza._

"So, destroy?"

I sighed, exasperated. Does he ever think of anything else? I mean, even my sibling and I weren't that obsessed with abolition. Weren't we? Let's not dwell on that.

His brother frowned. "No," He said, almost sadly.

I raised an eyebrow. Wow.

"If he is a son of Zeus, he could be the one we've been watching for." Zethes said.

I nodded-although, I'm a little disappointed that I haven't got an excuse to hurt them, anymore-urging him to stay in that direction. I wasn't going to question what they were talking about. I actually had the right mind to just go with it, since it wasn't going to get us attacked by purple winged idiots. But, Leo, though, was crazy. How could I have forgotten that he couldn't be in his right mind because he's lost it?

"Watching for?" He asked. It caught me by surprise and I didn't have time to react to it so he got to continue. "You mean, like, in a good way: You'll shower him with fabulous prizes? Or watching for in a bad way: he's in trouble?" Okay, it was a fair question, but what if the Boreads changed their minds while they were answering his questions? What would he do, _then_? Nothing, I thought, because _I'm_ going to kill every single one that dared to attack us.

"That depends on my father's will." A silky voice answered. I looked up, towards the staircase, and saw the epitome of the term _"Ice Queen"_. But it wasn't because I already guessed that she was Khione, Boreas' daughter, and the fact that she was pale as snow, and had perfect black hair shiny as ice that even Drew would die for.

It was because of her eyes, and how she carried herself. Her eyes were a deep coffee brown, and were so frosty that you'd have the image of a coffee that was left to turn _cold_. Her back was straight and her jaw was tilted slightly, as if challenging anyone to dare question her importance. She had this air about her that made you think twice from approaching her. She was looking at Jason.

"Father will want to see the man called Jason," She said smoothly.

Zethes looked like he wanted to throw a party. "Then it is him?" He asked his sister.

"We'll see," She said. I wondered if it was because she was a goddess of snow, or it was just the way she talked, because it sounded like the furniture weren't the only ones covered with ice. "Zethes, bring the guests." She ordered.

Leo came barreling past me, almost pushing me away. I didn't realize that I was still standing in front of him until then. I felt a surge of anger. What the Hades? Why was he so excited? Couldn't he have just gone around me like the normal person we were all supposed to be? Apparently, not. I was about to demand what he was doing in the most brutal way possible, but then I saw his face, and I _had_ to stop.

He had this dreamy look plastered on his face, and the corners of his mouth were starting go upwards-starting to form a lovesick grin. My jaw instantly dropped. I had seen boys react to Aphrodite when we visit Mt. Olympus, and I was sure this was it.

"Valdez, what-" I started but was stopped by Piper who whispered, "I'll explain later."

"Not you, Leo Valdez," Khione said, giving him a frigid look. Leo froze on the spot, but I knew she wasn't using her powers…yet. Leo looked like he was told the world was ending. I, on the other hand, straightened, having experienced strangers that knew your name to be monsters. Although, I thought, I think gods and goddesses knew them well enough, too. Still-you can never be prepared.

"Why not?" Leo complained. I felt a stab of revulsion as I looked at Leo with disgust, he sounded like a little kid being refused for the first time ever. Call me a hypocrite because I was doing the same earlier by whining about how heavy he was to Piper, but it still doesn't go well with me. "Overgrown six-year-old…" I muttered.

"You cannot be in the presence of my father," Khione explained coolly. "Fire and ice-it would not be wise." I wasn't going to let that-Leo staying here-happen even if I did hate Leo at the moment. For all we know, they still might think of him as a spy for the South Wind. How do we know they wouldn't kill him on the spot once we're gone? Not. Going. To. Happen.

"We're going together," Jason persisted, his face hard while putting his hand on Leo's shoulder. "Or not, at all." Khione tilted her head like an owl.

"He will not be harmed, Jason Grace, unless you make trouble." My eyes went wide as I stared at the snow goddess. Grace? That can't-She's wrong. She must've assumed that that was his last name, too. Thalia rarely uses-I looked at the three in front of me. They didn't notice, did they? How stupid can they get? Khione just said something critically vital and they wave it off like it was nothing? How-_How_ do I end up with these people? Oh gods, my hair is graying!

"Calais, keep Leo Valdez here. Guard him, but do not kill him."

Calais sulked. "Just a little?" Maybe I was losing it, too, because I actually started to chuckle. Piper looked at me, torn between amusement and mortification. I raised my hand in an_ 'I-surrender'_ way defensively.

"What? That was funny!"

"I take back what I said about you having an insane sense of humor," Leo exclaimed. "You have a sick and twisted sense of humor. And you _are_ insane."

I shrugged, not really caring at that point of my life. I already knew I'd go insane.

"Guys," Jason warned. "Serious situation here." He gestured around; I nodded and instantly wiped all the traces of flippant-ness on my face. Leo pouted at Jason, who turned back to Khione. She was still talking to Calais.

"No," She was telling him. "And take care of his interesting suitcase, until Father passes judgment."

Jason, Piper and I turned to look at Leo, who looked stunned and elated that we were considering what he wanted. I shouldn't have been surprised if I were him, he was the one that was going to be left behind.

"It's fine, guys," Leo assured us. "No sense causing trouble if we don't want to. You go ahead."

I, as insensitive as it sounds, nodded immediately. Don't get me wrong, I just wanted to go already since the faster we leave, the faster we can come back.

"Listen to your friend. Leo Valdez will be perfectly fine." She said, though I liked it better when Leo said it, for some unknown reason. Jason looked hesitant, but it was Piper who spoke.

"Maybe we can leave someone behind with him," Piper suggested. "Is that okay?" She asked Khione. Khione raised an eyebrow.

"By any means, yes, Piper Mclean, just not Jason Grace." She answered her. Piper looked satisfied and I patted her on the back.

"Tough luck, princess, don't get yourselves killed, okay? Hera'll kill me. C'mon, Jason." I started walking forward, but a hand on the collar of my shirt stopped me, I could've just continued on, not really restrained by the feeble attempt, but I didn't. I whirled around and looked at Piper with a sigh.

"What?"

"Not me. You."

I stared at her blankly. "_Excuse me?_"

"I'm serious, Sienna. I'll go with Jason while you can stay here with Leo."

"_I'm_ seriously not following."

Piper looked exasperated. Did she really expect me to just accept that I'm not going to go with them? She better not have. How can I protect them when I'm not around? I can't, that's right.

"That's because you aren't. Stay here with Leo." She said. I looked at her in disbelief. Was she for real?

"You know I can't. How am I supposed to help you when I'm stuck here with _him_." I asked, jerking my head over to Leo.

"You'll be with him. That's enough, right? Hera told you to help us, help by protecting Leo. _Or, at least, trying to_…" She added the last part as a soft whisper but I still heard. I pretended not to, though. She gave me a challenging look, her one eyebrow raised while her chin was tilted like Khione's. I sighed inaudibly, not wanting them to hear myself succumb helplessly.

I didn't really have a choice. I was going nowhere with this argument, since Jason looked like he agreed with Piper, so I nodded numbly. Piper smiled triumphantly (And, to this day, I always wonder if she used Charmspeak.). I turned to Leo, since he was abnormally quiet, to see that he was staring at Khione with the dreamy expression still on his faced. I stared daggers at him, my lips thinning.

"Hey, toolhead, did you even hear what she said?" I glowered. His head snapped towards us.

"Um, yeah?" He said uncertainly, grinning hesitantly. I snorted before hitting him on the head. (Don't tell _anyone_, but I actually didn't hit him _that_ hard.) He moaned in obvious pain.

"Wipe that grin off your face, you lovesick idiot."

* * *

_Well, I lied. There was no surprise. Though I wanted the surprise to be Jealous!Sienna, I couldn't. Since she's just at the crush stage (okay, this could be the big surprise.), I doubt she'll get jealous of Khione. She doesn't like Leo like that that much...for now, at least. _

_-The Drummer _


End file.
